The Legend of Wanheda
by michbacz
Summary: "Some Warriors look fierce, but are mild. Some seem timid, but are vicious. Look beyond appearances; position yourself for the advantage." - (Deng Ming-Dao). Sometimes one moment can change everything... and The Commander and her most faithfull Warrior know it better than anyone else. (CLEXA AU: Warnings for blood, guts, glory in later chapters. Big THX to my betas JS&BD)
1. Prologue

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well... here it is :) My first ever "The 100"/Clexa story. This is AU'ish... and by "au'ish" I mean it remains in the world of the tv series, but it happens (at least for now) before the original 100 landed on Earth. Also... and this is importatnt... in this story many "deceased" characters still lives. It means that such characters like Gustus, Anya or even Costia are good and well. Lexa is of course alive too and of course she is The Commander. As for Clarke... well... in my story Clarke is a Grounder and a warrior :) (and right now I'm not telling anything else because I hope to explore her past, present and her connection to Sky People later in the story) :)_

 ** _But the most important thing is... THIS is pure Clexa story with (...drum rolls...) h-a-p-p-y e-n-d-i-n-g because there's no chance in hell that I plan to kill one or both off my beloved tv characters. Who am I? J-the-douchebag-Rothenberg? Nope!_**

 ** _Oh, and don't get me wrong - THERE WILL BE LOTS OF ANGST, violence, hurt, etc... (the idea of the story demands it) - BUT I promise You All that there will be also many sweet and fluffy moments that we all know and love._**

 _IMPORTANT: Using different variations of character names is deliberate... (for example: Clarke/Klark, Lexa/Leska, Anya/Onya, etc...) - this is important for me and will be addressed later in the story. Also fair warning - first chapter is quite… well… GORY, so please keep it in mind._

 _Sooooooo... without further ado. Here is is. Oh! And the last thing: English is not my first language :/ So forigive me for any idiotic miskates.  
_

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

The guttural scream echoed through the woods making the riders instantly stop their horses. They looked at each other in confusion couldn't quite believe that such sound could escape from a human mouth. And they were sure it was human because there was no animal who could express in it's voice that amount of sorrow and anguish. It was so powerful that even the most seasoned warriors felt a cold chill travelling down their spines.  
The scream was full of pure agony, torture and immeasurable pain. It almost took a life of it's own growing and growing until it exploded making the listeners in awe dreading how anyone could even try to endure such amount of hurt.  
The scream was hurting them, cutting and stabbing their souls until it left nothing else but overwhelming emptiness.  
That was something entirely else...  
This scream was a herald of Death.

The army of sixty warriors looked at their Leader and even if she was still and composed almost like she was made from chiseled marble - they all saw from her rigid posture that she was affected as much as all of them. Those who were close enough to her - they could see her eyes - and those eyes told them that Heda was boiling in fury.  
Internally The Commander was shaking like a leaf but years and years of concealing her emotions did not allowed her to openly react to it.  
When the first scream slowly died down it was quickly followed by another...  
...and another...  
...and the one after that.  
Lexa's emotions reached the all time high when the feeling of dread filled her soul in anguish and worry.  
The quiet whisper made by one her most trusted generals mounting the horse on her right - reached the commanders ears affirming only the fact what she already knew.  
"It's Klark" - Anya growled with so much anger that her whole body was shaking with it.  
On Heda's left side - Gustus, another trusted advisor nodded sharply in confirmation.  
Lexa embraced her anger which rise to havens. She could almost taste it's sourness on her tongue.  
Letting her emotions fly she swiftly drew her sword.  
"Prepare for battle!" - she screamed to her warriors.  
She kicked her horse immediately entering into the gallop and her warriors followed her without a second of the hesitation. It took them another two minutes to reach the place where the screams were originating from.

The army entered the clearing with purpose of revenge and destruction in their eyes. They wanted to kill. They wanted to feel blood. They wanted to get the justice for their Heda to pay the traitors what was due to them... and pay in kind. Their rage was overwhelming their senses, their fingers was clenching the hilts of their swords and all they were thinking was to finally meet their hated enemy.  
The army entered the clearing with the purpose of seeking death and... and the death was waiting for them there...  
...but not in the way they expected it to.  
The battle screams fell silent and risen swords dropped down.  
The horses stopped once again and the sixty warriors blinked couldn't quite believe what their eyes was showing them.

They did not arrive to participate in the battle.  
They arrived here to bear witness to the carnage.

Gustus grinded his teeth so hard that he almost chipped them. His eyes shone with absolute bewilderment and awe and his heart swelled with something that only a warrior could feel for another warrior. Like a man dying from thirst in the desert looking for a drop of water his eyes devoured the view in front of him. The low growl escaped his throat and he could feel how the blood coursing in his veins started to sing to him this all too familiar song.

Anya's eyes took the sight in front of her with wonderment and amazement. Her battle heat calm down in an instant replaced by the feeling of incredible pride. She did not understand how it happened... what she saw... no, scratch that... She could ever explain what she was seeing right now but all of that followed to one simple conclusion and her heart was singing a song of victory and pride. it was one of those moments that you would be lucky to see once in the lifetime. It was a moment that rejected a person and created a Legend. In this moment she saw her... she felt h-e-r... and her own heart swelled with an amazement of the young warrior standing lonely but victorious.  
She saw it all and appreciated it, but at the same time she was conflicted with the feeling of immeasurable worry. The general cast a quick glance to her leader and froze because what she saw never ever happened before.  
There was no Heda at her side anymore.  
There was no fierce leader standing above all the mere mortals.  
For a few quick moments...  
For a time to take a single breath...  
For this blink of an eye...  
The Heda was gone and who remained was simply... Lexa.

Lexa on the other hand - for the first time in her life - was lost.

The Commander faced in her life immeasurable dangers. From the moment she was called to lead her people her life was in constant danger and she quickly learned to live with it because she simply had no other choice. She accepted it and started treating it as a part of her life as much as breathing.  
She also never felt uncomfortable with giving orders and sending her warriors to battle - knowing that many of them probably would not return to their families.  
Her sole purpose in life was to serve her people. To fight for them and to protect them at all cost and if necessary - to die for them.  
She did not fear death knowing that it was her destiny and when the time will come her spirit will choose another vessel in the same manner when previous Heda passed her spirit to her and the many before her.  
But now... In this moment while she was standing in the edge of the battlefield she felt something that she did not feel for a long time.  
She felt weak.  
She was scared.  
All those unfamiliar emotions was circling around her and for a moment she almost felt like she couldn't breathe.  
It was not tied to her, but to the lone figure standing in the middle of the forest clearing surrounded by the sea of bodies.

"Klark" - the quiet whisper escaped her lips while her eyes was glued to the silhouette of her most faithful warrior.  
The warrior whose body was covered with blood and viscera from head to toes.  
The warrior who was standing tall with her arms spread to the sides, with head tilted back and who was screaming into the skies with so much anguish and sorrow that Commanders heart was breaking with her as if it was her own pain.

Heda blinked getting rid of the tears that threaten to fall and took a deep breath.  
In the corner of her eye she saw Anya looking at her and in instant she put back on her face a familiar mask of indifference. She knew that Anya wasn't fooled by it but hopefully no one except the general saw her momentarily crack in her armor.  
She sheathed her sword and dismounted from her horse.  
"Heda?" - Gustus voice broke everyone from their stupor.  
"Everyone stay here" - she addressed her warriors and then looked at the man. "I will talk to her."  
His eyes quickly fell on the still screaming warrior and went back to Lexa. The worry in his eyes was clear.  
"But Heda..."  
She silenced him with one look.  
"It's Klark. She is not a danger to me."  
He bowed his head but she could see he was still conflicted.  
Anya dismounted from her horse and took a step closed to her commander. Lexa saw her eyes were filled with pain when she whispered quietly for leaders ears only.  
"Word of caution Heda... Yes, she is Klark, but... She may not be o-u-r Klark anymore."  
Lexa gaze didn't waver even a little when she met the eyes of her former mentor.  
"She's Klark" - she repeated.  
Anya bowed sharply accepting her answer and watched warily when Lexa turned and entered the battlefield.

The whole world stilled when she walked in the direction of her warrior.  
Deep and lush grass of the clearing was usually soaked with the morning dew. The moisture quickly entered her shoes and she had to hold back an involuntary chill caused by her soaked shoes.  
She ignored the lack of comfort but she hold her breath when she took a quick step over the first body laying on her path.  
The dampness from water turned into the one from blood but her step never faltered and her eyes was carefully scanning the whole area.  
Lexa fought many battles in her life. That was a way of her people and that was her life.  
Lead and fight... fight and lead... hoping that someday it will all be worth it... it will bring them all - peace.  
Lexa was a warrior.  
She knew the price of death and sacrifice and she also fought the battles with way bigger kill count than the one in front of her eyes... but this time it was so entirely different that even an experienced commander like herself felt like she was seeing everything for the first time.  
Body after body.  
One fallen warrior after another. Every single one of them wearing brands and colors of the Azgeda.  
She tried to count them but many of them were laying on each other so it was impossible to sum it all up with one quick look.  
The death took them all quickly and swiftly.  
The cuts on the bodies made so clean... so precise... so f-a-m-i-l-i-a-r.  
She stopped counting when she reached thirty seven - deciding it was not really that important at this moment.  
Her eyes fall on her warrior once again and then she come to halt a few paces from her.

She instantly recognized the body laying at Clarke's feet. All too familiar pale skin marred with tattoos and battle scars.  
The unseeing eyes of Nia, the Queen of Ice Nation were looking into the sky - her face frozen in grimace of eternal pain and defeat. The only clean cut on the body was on it's neck which severed the head from the flesh. The rest was simply mutilated almost beyond the recognition which indicated that Clarke must have took her time with her for some reason.  
The smell of death was overwhelming.

The Commander and her Warrior surrounded by death.  
Standing together in the sea of blood.  
Over the dead body of their enemy.

How fitting.

"Klark" - her voice was calm and steady and in quite contrast to all of the emotions boiling beneath commander skin.  
The girl in question apparently did not hear her - so she tried again.  
"KLARK!"  
She shouted hoping for the reaction and this time she was successful.  
The new scream stopped mid tone and the warrior turned around to face her Heda.

Lexa almost shuddered when she took a closer look of the state her warrior was in.  
Holding two swords in her hands and almost completely covered in blood Clarke looked like a presence from nightmares that the parents tells their children while wanting them to behave.  
She was bleeding.  
She was bleeding so much.  
The commander noticed one arrow sticking from her thigh and another one which was embedded in her side. Both shafts were broken - probably during the battle - and the wounds was still oozing life out of her.  
There was also many others... sword and dagger slashes from every direction imaginable... those begin on her calves and went through thighs, arms and torso - ending on the left cheek. The last one was a clean cut - probably made by the throwing knife. Her own blood was mixing with the blood of her enemies in the grotesque mosaic of death.  
How Clarke was still able to stand with that amount of wounds was beyond Lexa's understanding but for her the worst were the eyes.  
The eyes of her warrior, often so full of joy and mischief now was filled with absolute anguish and sorrow.  
The Commander swallowed a bile in her throat waiting.  
"H... Heda?"  
A choked whisper escaped from her lips and Lexa watched in shock as her bravest warrior fell on her knees in front of her with two streams of tears falling from her eyes.  
"Kla..."  
"I... failed... you... Heda..." - Clarke's voice was almost a whisper but to commander it was almost like she was screaming.  
Her chest tighten and as she watched her kneeling warrior.  
"Why do you think you failed me, Klark?"  
She asked her voice calm and soothing.  
Tears fell from Clarke's eyes smudging the blood covering her cheeks.  
"I... could not... protect... her..."  
"Klark..."  
"I failed... to... to protect her... Heda. They... took her. I... I couldn't... I tried... but I failed."  
Lexa's heart broke.  
"Klark" - she tried again but her warrior wasn't listening lost completely in her own world.  
"She was... she was here... right behind me... we were fighting to... there was so many... so many of them... but than she... she was just... GONE!"  
The last word she screamed and the new bath of tears flew from her eyes.  
Lexa also felt the moisture in her eyes but once again she willed it away.  
"I looked for... her Heda. I swear. But... but she was... gone. And than... and than... Nia... S-H-E laughed!"  
Clarke's voice broke with venom and hatred.  
"She laughed... and she told me that she took her!"  
The scream returned in full force.  
"She told me she... took her... and killed her! SHE'S GONE HEDA! SHE'S DEAD!"  
Her voice changed once again and this time it sounded defeated.  
"I failed her Heda..." - she whispered. "I failed... You."  
Clarke dropped one of her swords on the ground and took the second one by the blade and pressed it to her neck drawing a new stream of blood. She the hilt pointed in the direction of her Commander her eyes unwavering and full of remorse.  
"I failed you Heda"  
She declared with steady voice.  
"I failed Costia. I deserve death. "  
Another whisper fell from warriors lips.  
"I... am... sorry... Leska."  
On the sound of her name on her lips Heda's mask fell away like it never existed. Tears fell from the commander's eyes and she took a step to stand over her suffering warrior.  
She extended her hand and grabbed a sword by the blade taking it off Clarke's thorat.  
The blue eyes blinked in pained confusion but never left a shining green ones.  
"H...Heda?"  
Lexa dropped a sword to the ground and gently placed her own hands on the blood stained cheeks.  
"You did not fail me, Klark" - she whispered.  
"Wh...what?"  
Her confusion was clear as day but Lexa never stopped caressing her face.  
"Costia is alive, Klark."  
The warrior jerked suddenly but Heda's hands was keeping her in place.  
Sheer confusion shone into her eyes but Lexa could also see in them a tiniest sparkle of hope.  
"It's not... possible. Nia... She told me... she laughed."  
"Costia is back in Tondc."  
"Really?"  
Lexa raised an eyebrow.  
"Do you think I'm lying?"  
The hard shake of Clarke's head was answer enough.  
"Never Heda!"  
"Then like I said... You did not fail her and... You did not fail me."  
Warrior closed her eyes for a moment.  
"How it is possible?"  
Lexa smiled gently admiring the fact that Clarke was one of the few of her warriors who were able to straightforward demand an answer from her Commander.  
"After the treachery of Azgeda I took the army and followed your tracks. We were still several leagues from the war party when suddenly Costia appeared on the horse that was covered in Ice Nation markings."  
Clarke furrowed her brows but remained silent.  
"When she reached us - she pointed us to this direction. She told me that during the ride you somehow were able to get rid of the bonds keeping you immobile and then attacked one of the raiders near you."  
Lexa's touch on her face eased a little but she was still holding her with utmost reverence.  
"She told us that you killed him and you took his sword. Then the war party had to stop and it gave you a chance to reach Costia. You killed another two guards near her and then stayed between her and the rest of warriors. You were all just entering this clearing and you took the chance to use the most narrow path of it."  
Clarke trembled a little but Lexa continued.  
"You screamed at her to run... to escape and return to Tondc... but then they attacked you once again. Only three at once because of the narrow corridor you were standing in. They managed to wound you... but according to Costia you still were able to kill them. Than you turned to her and with your sword made a quick cut to the horse she was sitting on. Not hard enough to disable animal but painful enough to send it in the full panic gallop."  
Lexa took a deep breath while Clarke trembled.  
"I... do not... remember any... of that."  
Commander's eyes shone like a two stars in the sky.  
"Probably because you were in full battle rage... You went so deep into it that you couldn't register anything around you except of your enemy. But don't worry... it will return to you sooner or later."  
Clarke exhaled loudly and Lexa continued.  
"That was also the last time Costia saw you because the horse took her through the woods in full speed and when she was able to finally get him under control once again - she was too far away from you. Then she decided to ride to Tondc for help."  
Commander fingers touched a still bleeding cut on her warrior's cheek.  
"Twenty minutes later - she found us and pointed this way. I sent her with two warriors back to the village."  
Clarke was crying and Lexa felt a wetness from her tears on her hands.  
"She's alive." - the warrior whispered.  
"She's alive."  
The whole body of the blonde was shaking like a leaf.  
"I did not fail her."  
Lexa nodded her head.  
"You did not fail her."  
The blues met greens once again.  
"I did not... fail... you... Leska."  
The Commander felt her heart break but she answered her calmly.  
"You did not fail me, Klark."  
The blonde smiled.  
"Good."  
And then blood loss and sheer exhaustion won the battle, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and unconscious body of the commander's most faithful warrior fell into the waiting arms of her Heda. 

* * *

**tbc...**


	2. Brand New Day

**Thank You for Your kind response to this story. I really appreciate it! :) Here's nother quick chapter. Hopefully another aone will be little bigger.**

 **(Thank You Joanne for being my beta :) )**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1 – BRAND NEW DAY**

XXXXXXXXXXX

In the exact moment when girl fell into Commander's arms Lexa scooped her up.

"Gustus!"

Her shout didn't even have time to die down when the warrior in question stood in front of her extending his own arms to her. As gently as she could, the Commander placed the unconscious body into the waiting hands of the giant. She was absolutely convinced that he will be able to properly take care of this precious cargo.

"Take her to the edge of the clearing. Get the healer. She lost a lot of blood."

He nodded solemnly.

Lexa took a careful glance to the bloodied girl.

"Shallow cuts are not life threatening but they are still bleeding. Use hot iron if you can't close them right now. The most important thing is to keep her alive now. Tell Nyko...

She hesitated.

"Nyko will know the rest."

"Sha Heda."

"Go!" - she growled and Gustus left immediately.

The Commander took a deep breath stilling her raging emotions and suddenly she felt another presence at her side. She cast a quick glance and she met the eyes of her mentor.

"Your orders?" - the woman asked.

"First what we need is..."

Lexa started to turn around to address the warriors behind her, but Anya's strong grip abruptly stopped her in place.

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked questioningly not understanding the reason behind it but only second later the warriors urgent whisper immediately caught her attention.

"Do not turn around for now, Heda..." - Anya stepped really close to her leader in even more subdued tone.

"Wha...?"

Honestly speaking she was more confused than angry for this disturbing request but knowing her general she was aware must have a real reason to say this. She raised her eyebrows at her - silently demanding an answer.

"Your eyes, Heda."

The words were almost inaudible but it was enough for Lexa to freeze suddenly aware of the moisture coating her own cheeks.

Damn.

Anya squeezed tightly her arm letting her know she knows about the storm of feelings raging inside of her.

"It's ok Heda." - she spoke. "Take a moment. I'll give the orders."

Lexa nodded sharply but before Anya was able to leave her alone she grabbed her arm.

"Look for the living" - she hissed. "There's too many for all of them to be dead."

Anya bowed lightly.

"And when we find them?" - she asked.

Lexa bit her lower lip but her eyes shone with conviction.

"I want every healer except Nyko to look for the living and patch their wounds. If they are still alive - they need to remain alive."

"Why Heda?" - the confusion in Anya's voice was evident. "They are traitors. They should die as such."

Lexa's voice turned ice cold.

"There is still time for that, but if it is to happen - it is not for us to take their lives now. Their lives belong to the one who defeated them. Their lives belong to Klark. Besides..."

She pointed sharply at the carnage that was surrounding them.

"...I don't think we have to worry about more traitors anytime soon."

Anya's eyes brightened with understanding and a small smile quirked a corner of her lips.

"Sha Heda. It will be done."

She bowed once again and stepped away barking orders left and right - leaving Lexa alone.

The Commander exhaled and slowly with her back turned to her warriors she lifted her hand and wiped her face. Thankfully she did not have time to put the war paint on before the chase started. It would be impossible to wipe the traces from her face and her people would be able to see her weakness.

Shit.

Thank the spirits for Anya and her level head because Lexa was sure she will keep her secret. Gustus too - because there was no chance in hell that he didn't see her face when he was taking Clarke from her. If it were anyone else than those two - she would have no choice to kill the witness.

Today she broke one of her most sacred rules and for a moment she allowed her emotions to get the better of her.

She let herself feel.

She let herself to be... weak.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Not today. Not ever.

So why had it happened today?

She knew the answer even before the question fully formed in her mind.

She allowed it because of Klark and because she could be honest with herself... she had no idea why.

Lexa winced inwardly and then took one more deep breath to compose herself.

A quick glance at her hands sent another wave of anger traveling through her body.

Blood.

She was holding her warrior only for a few moments but even it was enough to completely cover her palms in it.

Klark's blood was on her hands and for the first time in a long time she almost felt physically sick at the sight red liquid.

Weakness.

Damn it all to hell!

Once again she couldn't stop the slight tremor of her body but she willed it away.

The mask of indifference was back on. She leaned a little and picked the so familiar head from the ground grabbing it by its hair. Nia's neck wasn't oozing blood anymore and The Commander turned to the warriors and held it up in the air.

All movement stopped.

"Warriors!" - she shouted.

The shining eyes of her people intensified on her.

"Here's the head of the traitor queen!"

The low growl was the answer to her words.

"LOOK AT HER FACE!"

She extended her hand more and the part of the former living and breathing person dangled in the air.

Her voice was strong and full of passion.

"She betrayed the Coalition! By her orders many Triku died not a day ago!"

The answering growl was louder and grew steadily.

"LOOK AT HER!"

The roar of the gathered crowd started to be deafening.

"For her treacherous act the Ice Queen died in shame and disgrace! And the most important thing is the justice was delivered to her by one of you!"

The Warriors shouted with glee and extreme proud.

"The one of Y-O-U took the life of the traitor and the life of many under her command! She was one against many and she was victorious!"

The warriors weren't shouting anymore - the tremendous battle cry burst out of their throats and echoed through the woods.

There was pride. So much pride in this sound that Lexa couldn't help herself but smile widely.

"SHE IS ONE OF YOU!"

The whole world trembled from the victorious cries of Commanders army.

"SHE IS KLARK!"

Echo picked up warriors continuous chant and took it deeper and deeper into the woods.

"KLARK. KLARK. KLARK. KLARK. KLARK..."

Lexa dropped the traitor's head to the dirt where it belonged.

Heda's spirit lifted her eyes glued to the edge of the woods where a skilled healer was trying his best to keep young warrior in the realm of the living.

The shadow crossed the Commander's face.

"Live, Klark..." - she whispered her voice drowned in the shouts of the warriors.

"...you have so much to live for."

The hesitant rays of the sunrise fell on the forest clearing coating lush greens and glistering reds in breathtaking glow.

…

Heda closed her eyes and took a deep breath into her lungs.

A New day has just begun.

* * *

Over 2400 miles from the forest battlefield... almost on the other side of the continent... a lone traveler was just preparing his late breakfast meal. The small fire crackled under freshly skinned squirrel which and a light haired man poked in a few places with his knife just to get the juices flowing knowing well that it will help the meat to cook faster.

He opened one of the bundles placed near the fire and took out a small metal cup. Then took a few dark beans from one of the pouches, put it in and using the blunt part of the weapon grinded them into dust.

He hummed approvingly and the result and then took the bigger metal jug that was placed near the fire and poured the boiling water to the small cup. He swirled the rich brown liquid with his knife and then blew lightly at it trying to cool it a little.

Satisfied with the final result he sat on the nearby rock and took a careful sip.

A low hum of pure pleasure escaped from his throat and he closed his eyes prolonging the pleasure.

His relaxed state allowed his mind to wander.

As a thousands upon thousands times before his thoughts traveled over the vast spaces of the new world taking the sights and drinking them in awe and reverence as it supposed to be cherished and admired. His present thoughts mixed with memories of the past traveled over the lands belonged to so many different people.

He began his travel with the tribes of the past skipping by the ancestral lands of the great and proud tribes of Shoshone and Navajo. He glided over the desert almost feeling the warm of the scorching sun, he felt the chill breeze of the great Lake City and dipped his empirical hands in the still waters surrounding it. He sat for the moment by the bonfires of the Blackfoot tribe and ran among the horses of the Crows war party headings to the ruins of Den-ER. He spent few minutes watching over them but soon followed East to the Wastelands. He passed the city of Rock and Stone and saw nomad warriors preparing for a hunt and their children playing in the sun. His thoughts then traveled North passing Sangedakru, Ingranrona and straight through the Podakru lands. He could almost smell the fish taken out of their boats right to the markets. He saw the Lake People them smiling, arguing, fighting and making amends and once again he couldn't help by smile to himself.

The Last One was making the difference and he felt pride swelling in his chest.

His thoughts travelled forward over the Floudonkru and Broadleaf clans and journeyed by the villages of the Delfikru, Trishana, Yujleda before finally arriving to his destination.. to the deep, lush and green forests of the Trikru.

He took a deep breath seeking his connection to The Last One.

As always it took him only a few seconds when he felt his blood humming warmly when the link was made.

Overall it was all in blood.

This amazing liquid floating through their veins.

This essence of light which physical form was... ironically... as black as night.

This gentleness of the soul, which was stronger than even the hardened steel.

Powerful and immortal echo accepting their connection to each other.

The echo of The Last One.

The echo of The First One.

And the echoes of all Others in between.

...

And then the connection was complete.

...

He frowned in confusion feeling something new.

The overbearing self-control of The Last One was gone. He never was able to know exactly what the Last One was was feeling... that's not how their connection worked... but he was able to catch the the shadow of the soul which resonated in his own for all those long years. But it was always separated by the invisible stone wall of emotions.

And this time the wall was gone.

Not only gone but grinded to dust with some unimaginable burst of emotions leaving the Last One open to more of the feelings that she ever allowed to her to receive.

But there was also something more...

...

Another echo.

Echo of something new.

Something that resonated with the core of The Last One in the same manner as his.

...

Interesting.

...

He smiled and severed his connection.

His eyes sprung open and a little warm smile appeared on his lips.

"Well, well, well..." - the traveler murmured to himself. "That was new."

He stood up from the rock and made a few steps to his horse standing nearby. He took a small apple from one of his pockets and gave it to the animal gently stroking it's mane.

"What do you say buddy?" - he asked quietly. "Are you ready to travel home?"

The stallion snorted and shook his head allowing the rider to press a small kiss on its muzzle.

The traveler smirked at the animal.

"If you say so."

…

The man closed his eyes and took a deep breath into his lungs.

New day has just begun.

* * *

 **tbc...**


	3. No holding back

**Here's another update of this story. It took me a little while to make it, but hopefully it turned out somewhat okay.**

 **Thank you kindly for all Your follows and comments - those make me smile like a little kid.**

 **Once again big THANK YOU to my amazing beta - Joanne.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2: NO HOLDING BACK**

Nyko was a good healer. Some might even say that he was the best one. Of course he knew the real truth but because she was not available right now he was doing the best he could. He worked methodically quickly sewing the cuts to the best of his ability.

His hands where slick with the warriors blood and the needle in his hands was glistening in the sun.

Pinch. Push. Pull. Tie a knot. Repeat.

Just like he was taught.

Pinch. Push. Pull. Tie a knot. Repeat.

Over and over again.

Pinch. Push. Pull. Tie a knot. Repeat.

There was so many wounds and he had so little time.

The warriors life was in his hands.

The life of his friend.

So he worked and worked and worked…

Pinch. Push. Pull. Tie a knot. Repeat.

The small wounds where fairly easy to deal with and he did not waste much timeon them. Making a single sutures across each one to keep it together and burn-off the rest. He had four daggers placed in the fire. Two of his own and two owned by others.

This method was simple and effective.

The wounds would scar but he did not think it would be an issue with this particular patient.

His fingers cramped a little but he continued.

Stitch a wound.

Take a scalding hot blade from the fire.

Burn the wound. Put the blade back. Stitch another wound. Take another blade. Make a burn. Put the blade back.

And in this pace before he would reach for the fourth dagger the first one was already hot and perfect to use again.

Pinch. Push. Pull. Tie a knot. Repeat.

When he reached a last minor cut he stopped for a second. He counted twenty seven of them.

Well... it's wasn't the worst he had to deal with in his life but it definitely was far from perfect.

Now it was time to take care of the big ones.

He usually would begin his work with those but a quick look before he started told him that ha wasn't able to deal with them properly on site. He needed antiseptic ointments and more controlled environment to do his job.

The arrow wounds were deep, but the wood were blocking blood flow in some way that's why he left them for now.

What was worrying him the most was the sword slash on her back. It was definitely a little to close to warriors spine for his taste. He tried his best to patch it up but in this place he wasn't sure it will be enough.

Someone stood over him.

"How is she?" - he heard a question.

"She's a fighter" - he answered. "So she's still alive... for now"

He did not raise his head still checking bloodied wounds.

"Tell me what you need?"

"Stretcher. Hard. Steady. Mounted between two horses. We need to travel to Tondc as fast as possible."

"What else?"

"Bind the horses very close together. Put two planks between them if necessary. It needs to be really stable. It's important. Pick the calmest horses. If they panic in any way during the ride - she will fall and she will die."

"It will be done."

The shadow left to do what it was told to do and Nyko quickly looked after it.

He froze and gulped for a moment watching the person he just gave orders to.

Heda was giving orders to warriors to gather the horses and make a stretcher - just as he told her.

Merciful Spirits!

Giving an order to the Commander of Twelve Clans and living to tell the tale...

Well...

That was unexpected.

And scary as hell.

And... yeah... he could also admit it -but only to himself... It was also a little funny.

Scary and funny at the same time.

He swallowed the bile in his throat and fought a lightest smirk from his lips.

He cast a glance to warriors unconscious body and murmured quietly.

"If she wanted to kill me for this... she would do this already."

He shook his head.

"But if I'm going to lose my tongue later... I'm blaming you Little One."

Then he went back to work.

xxx

The building of the stretcher took almost half an hour but when it was done it was really stable and safe. Lexa personally picked two of the most steady horses and helped her warriors to strap them into makeshift harness. Than with the help of two other and Nyko, they picked Clarke up and placed her gently on the furs.

All of her warriors stopped their tasks for a moment and silently watched unconscious girl. Their eyes shone with excitement and reverence and the Commander felt herself joining them in those feelings.

When a young woman was safely secure, Lexa nodded to Nyko who climbed on his horse.

"Go to Tondc" - she said to him and added more quietly. "Keep her alive."

The healer bowed slightly.

"Don't worry Heda. She's too stubborn to die."

Nyko kicked a horse and he rode straight into the woods in the accompanied by five other riders assigned to this party by Anya.

Lexa watched after them until they disappeared from sight and turned once again to the battlefield.

All the bodies were gathered in one place and piled next to each other.

She saw approaching Anya and lifted an eyebrow.

"How many dead?" - she asked.

General smiled in disbelief.

"Thirty nine in total. The girl was really busy."

Lexa's eyes stayed fixed on the bodies.

"Impressive. How in the spirits she pulled it off?"

Anya shrugged.

"I don't know, Heda. Honestly..."

She paused for a moment.

"Speak openly" - Lexa implored.

The Commanders mentor lowered her voice to a whisper.

"I am good with my sword Lexa. You know that, right?"

The young woman's silence was enough for the answer.

"And you too are not terrible in this, Heda..." - she flashed her teeth in quick smile. "Because... well... I trained you."

Lexa allowed a small quirk of her lips and waited for her general to continue.

"And I think I could take ten to fifteen warriors at once... if I had enough motivation or... I don't know... If I were very very drunk."

She took a deep breath.

"And you... with all my faith in your fighting skills... I think you would be able to take on... I guess... up to twenty at the same time.

Lexa nodded accepting her mentor's assessment.

"I guess... " - Anya continued carefully. "If it were both of us - working together - and being e-x-t-r-e-m-l-y pissed off... I think we could have pulled something similar. To take on the whole war party by ourselves."

"With a lot of luck" - Lexa added.

Anya chuckled.

"Yeah… lots and lots of luck. But… we wouldn't be standing very tall after that. But like I said... with the Spirits holding our swords for us - it would be doable."

They were quiet for a long moment.

"But this..." - Anya whispered in awe. "This is something else. What she did... it shouldn't be possible."

"It shouldn't."

"But I recognized her cuts and I know you did too

"Yes, I did"

Anya's massaged her neck in confusion.

"She MADE those cuts." - she hissed. "A-L-L O-F-F T-H-E-M. How it is even..."

She paused.

"She couldn't do it... but somehow - she did it."

The Commander closed her eyes for a moment remembering the broken face of her warrior. Her haunted eyes glued to her face with unmeasurable amount of grief and sorrow. _"I failed you, Leska"_ \- she said in despair. _"I failed You."_

The Commander eyes opened.

"She snapped" - she whispered quietly.

"Yes" - Anya confirmed. "She snapped"

The General shook her head in disbelief.

"It's really hard for me to believe."

"Not for me" – The Commander said quietly.

Warrior gave her a quick look.

"Why is that?"

She sighed.

"I know Klark. I know her fighting style. I know that if she had no other choice – she would be able to do this."

"Where do you get that confidence?"

Lexa hesitated.

"I know that thanks to our training sessions."

Anya snorted sarcastically.

"Suuuure, of course. The only problem is that everyone know how you easily wipe the ground with her every single time. Yes. I agree that Klark is great in combat… She's my Second for Spirits Sake and I'm trying to teach her everything she should know. Nevertheless, from what I can see many of other warriors can surpass her. That's why I do not understand why are you so sure that she could achieve such incredible feat? "

She pointed her hand toward clearing at the lying bodies.

"But all this required something way more than ordinary fighting skills."

Heda was silent for a moment, pondering her words, but finally sighed and shook her head.

"Onya ... I'm afraid you see only what Klark WANT you to see" - she said quietly.

The General froze when the meaning of these words reached her. Slowly she turned her head and looked at her Commander.

Her eyes shone.

"Explain" – she growled quietly.

On the one hand, Lexa wanted to ignore this question... She was Heda and as such she did not have to explain anything to anyone. On the other hand Anya for years belonged to the circle of people who had her absolute trust. In addition the woman was also her mentor, so keeping a secret from her was not something that Lexa felt comfortable with.

Without removing her eyes from battlefield, she took a deep breath and started telling a story intended only for the ears of her General.

"It all started with our first joint training ..."

xxx

 **3 YEARS EARLIER**

For more than a century – after the Earth was almost entirely shrouded in cloak nuclear fire - life on the surface was not easy. However, like the mythical Phoenix - from the ashes of the old world emerged a new one, no less beautiful, but far more brutal world in which the ability to survive demanded not only the willpower of human soul, but also their ability to endure.

For someone unaccustomed to it - the sharp sound of steel hitting steel could give the impression of being uncomfortable, but for Lexa sounds of battle were as natural as breathing.

Her eyes moved slowly from one warrior to another analyzing carefully their every move, punch and shove and noticing all errors, which even highly experienced warriors could not get rid of that easily.

In her eighteen years of life Lexa could honestly say that she knew the art of war and could fight better than any of them.

When she was thirteen summers old she was chosen as the successor to the previous Commander and since then her life has been inextricably linked with to the sword. Of course it was uncommon to the children her age, because the life on the surface demanded of single one of them to be acquainted with weapons as early as possible. She herself held her first dagger few days after celebrating the third spring of life.

That was what life demanded from everyone in the current world.

You either learn to fight or you will die.

Nothing less - nothing more.

And Lexa was trained by the best.

Literally at the moment when it was discovered that she was a Nightblood, both her parents and the rest of her family started to prepare her for honorable function of The Commander. Few years later, when she was just 6 years old, she became Anya's second and her life changed forever. Under the watchful eye of her mentor she began her real training and only then she understood that by far she had a pretty easy life going on.

Now, twelve years later, after thousands of sacrifices, she could - on the fingers of one hand - count the number of warriors, who were able to keep up with her in a single combat.

Gustus ...

Anya ...

Indra.

Training with those three always were a big challenge and an even greater pleasure.

...

But now Lexa had to temporarily cope without them.

...

A week ago Anya was sent on a mission to The Boat Clan to avert conflict between two prominent families. Indra was also busy with Tondc affairs and had to deal with few renegade groups robbing smaller settlements. Gustus was also out of commission after a hunting accident when one of the big cats managed put its paws on him in very harsh way. He needed at least three to four weeks to return to health.

Thus, Lexa has been deprived of every one of her regular training partners which... what's more to say... caused her a slight annoyance. Overall, for how long girl can train "dry" and do not go crazy with boredom, right?

That was precisely the reason why she now standing on the edge of the training square trying to choose someone to practice with.

It was not easy, because every one of her soldiers was really damn good.

She smiled to herself.

Yes, they were good even if many of them have yet a long way ahead of them. They simply had to work hard on themselves, it was clear that their potential in them was huge.

Slowly she looked from one to the other assessing their attitude, how they learned when they make mistakes and in what they were good enough to try to specialize in it. Unfortunately, so far none of them managed to catch her attention for long enough so she could decide that he or she will be her new partner.

She frowned and was just about to return to her tent, when her attention was drawn to a flash of the bright color.

She didn't even feel it when she held her breath.

Warriors were joined by another one, and for the first time this morning Lexa felt a spark of curiosity.

A girl with hair light as the sun - so unusual for the rest of her people - slowly began to warm up before her workout and just like many times before she held the sole attention of The Commander.

"Clarke" - Lexa muttered quietly recognizing her.

The warrior was not unfamiliar to her.

Quite the contrary, because after all those long years another Anya's Second was quite common for Lexa and her continued presence was nothing new. However, what was strange was that Heda didn't know her all too much.

Of course, it was hard to expect that Leader of All Clans had the time and capabilities to personally know each and every one of their subordinates, but it didn't change the fact that this girl fascinated her from the beginning.

Lexa obviously never let her know about it, but this silent and always remaining in the shadow of Anya blonde was something that constantly piqued her curiosity and… what was really strange… a little uncertainty.

…

And Lexa was never particularly fond of the unknowns.

...

Heda narrowed her eyes and carefully watched her.

Her form was perfect – that could be said without much difficulty.

Her movements were smooth and carefully thought out, and each one had its specific place and purpose.

She used two swords at the same time ... and although the style was not favored by the majority of Trikru... it was clear that in this case this suited her quite nicely.

During the initial warm-up her movements were slow and the metal shone clearly, when the rays of the morning sun reflected from its blades. However, in just a few minutes, the girl moves became faster and more fluid, until finally the blades began to resemble a blurred streak.

Lex frowned.

Impressive.

She noted that many of her warriors began to take a quick peeks at girl and she could clearly see in both envy and lust in their eyes.

Lexa snorted softly, irritated by behavior of both men and women. Especially this "envy" thing was grating on her nerves.

She exhaled loudly.

Yes, the girl was beautiful, but it did not give anyone right to treat her like a piece of meat. And what made this even more despicable that it was happening during the training. Such complete lack of respect deserved strong reaction from...

Whoa!

Stop.

She shook her head getting rid of all of those intrusive thoughts.

Why the hell did she even care?

She rubbed her eyes again with her fingers and then focused her gaze on a face of her trainee, which was light up with unbridled joy.

It did not take a genius to figure out that the exercise was pure pleasure for this one.

Lexy lips involuntarily quirked with a shadow of a smile.

Sooo, Clarke… hmmm?

Okay, so be it.

The decision was easier than she expected.

Step by step, Lexa approached the training field, and when the others noticed who joined them -their interest has increased even more. The Commander stopped a few paces behind girl brandishing her steel.

She watched her movements for a while and folded her arms on her chest and broke the silence.

"I see that Anya's instructions falls on fertile ground."

The blonde stopped a swing in mid-motion and turned smoothly toward voice coming from behind her back. Raised sword immediately fell down and the girls head bowed with a respectful greeting.

"Heda" - her voice was quiet but Lexa didn't notice in it even a trace of fatigue after a hard warm-up.

That was another "plus" confirming the decision was well made, the Commander thought.

"Clarke" – Lexa greeted her while slowly circling and pinning her with careful eye.

"Yes, Heda?"

"Why do you not accompany your First in her expedition?"

"Anya ordered me to stay in the camp, Heda" – the girl replied without lifting her head. "The messenger from Boat Clan is coming here in three days. The First told me to bring him to Indra."

Lexa nodded, knowing about this, and then she reached behind her back, and smoothly pulled out her sword.

At the sound of it Clarke finally raised her head and looked with interest at The Commander.

Blue eyes shone brightly, but she remained silent.

Maintaining a neutral - even downright bored tone of voice - Lexa met the eyes of her warrior and said.

"From now on we will train together."

Clarke narrowed her eyes and nodded.

"As you wish, Heda."

Commander raised the blade at eye level.

"Any questions?"

Girl's teeth flashed with a quick smile, but it disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared.

"No, Heda." She replied and then slipped one of her swords back into the sheath and stood combat ready with another one.

Satisfied Commander lapped into position.

"Good."

She said and looked around met all the eyes that were watching them.

"Get back to practice!" - She ordered, and they quickly returned to the interrupted activity.

Once again her eyes met the blonde's.

"Ready?"

"Yes, Heda."

Lexa moved her sword with the attack and the metal met the blade of her opponent.

The commander grinned.

The next few days started to look a little more interesting.

Xxx

A week later, Lexa's satisfaction gave way to deep… very deep… irritation.

Okay, that was really not the right word to describe what she really felt.

Irritation and annoyance was present in the first two days of their practice after the start of training with Clarke.

Today however – seven days later – it was obvious to her that what she was feeling wasn't in any way close to that feeling.

Today it was anger.

Annoyance changed into the purest form of rage and it was boiling in her like a water in the pot hanging over the fore.

Literally she was within seconds from the total explosion.

KLANG!

The blade met blade, and two opponents bounced off each other carefully analyzing every move.

The audience gathered around them attentively watched the fighting pair.

...

Lexa gritted her teeth trying to surpass angry growl wanting to escape her throat.

...

She was standing in the center of the square, just a few short steps away from the panting heavily Clarke.

She narrowed her eyes, knowing full well that in a few short moments she will once again witness an identical behavior from the girl in front of her.

And that was exactly the reason why her blood was boiling right now.

She witnessed it dozens of times before.

...

WOOOOSH !

...

Lexa quickly dodged to the left, while striking quickly pass on her right, then immediately went to counterattack. Both women rushed toward each other and the blades clashed.

Steel buzzed loudly. It was obvious that the fight although fierce - was very balanced.

The Warrior slid to the left, gathered her strength and in the next the second blades met one more time.

The Commander felt sore muscles, but she ignored them, spun and attacked once again. Just how she was taught.

...

CRASH! CLANK! BANG! CLINK! BANG!

...

" _Before you do anything…"_ – Lexa thought to herself. "… _you must be sure of it"_

She needed to be absolutely certain that her suspicions correct and only then respond accordingly.

" _I have to finish it ... Now!"_

She pushed back Clarke quickly.

This threw her momentarily off balance, and in the next second Heda used this to her advantage. She grabbed the hilt harder, whirled her sword and slashed at her opponent...

…lifting her blade few inches higher than she should.

...

She did it specially just to test the theory that grew in her head for last few days.

It wasn't really an obvious mistake.

In fact, it was almost unnoticeable and she knew that none of her warriors standing on the sidelines could notice it.

…

However, Clarke should.

Clarke should notice it because there was no chance in hell to be that good as she was and not caught it and take advantage of it.

Sooo yeah, Clarke should note her "mistake" and Lexa was sure she did.

But the girl ignored it.

...

Damn it all to hell!

…

Exactly the same as it has many times before it happened today too! The blond warrior ignored Heda's mistake that could give her distinct advantage and a chance to win the match – and throw herself in other direction which in result made herself in an uncomfortable position.

...

A muffled growl escaped Lexa throat when she realized that her theory proved to be correct.

...

Rage clouded her eyes and she attacked with fury, flattening the blade in the single swing and cut in the direction of the left hip of her opponent. Clarke ignored the bait and moved only when the distance between them was reduced to two steps. She extended her left leg forward trying to knock the other woman out of rhythm, but when that failed she quickly jumped to the left getting ready to cut from the top.

The Commander recognized the maneuver and rushed the girl with vengeance.

Before the blonde could react, Lexa intercepted the blow and swiped it to the side. Steel "wooshed" on her right and she swiftly grabbed the dropping hand and executed a quick kick right in the girls ribcage.

With the grunt of pain Clarke landed on her back, but immediately jumped back on her feet and attacked once more...

…but this time she was so obvious in her moves that Lexa could easily exploited it to her advantage.

And she did it without hesitation.

BAM!

She executed a powerful blow with the hilt of her sword straight in to Clarke's solar plexus. This knocked the girl to the ground one more and during it she lost her own blade.

Clarke hissed in pain trying to get up but quickly stopped and froze motionless when she felt a sharp metal on her throat.

Lexa stood over her, breathing hard. The gathered warriors exploded around her in awe but she did not hear them.

In her book an undeserved victory was not worthy of any recognition.

Green eyes full of restrained fury met those of color clearest sky.

Their heavy breathing merged into one.

Without taking the blade from the defeated girls throat, Lexa leaned over her and quietly - enough to be sure that no one except the blond heard her – whispered right in her face.

"I should kill you for it."

Then she straightened up, hid her sword and without look back she walked toward the commander's tent, leaving in the dust her defeated opponent.

When the skins covering the entrance to her tent closed behind her - Lexa let that mask of indifference fell from her face.

She grabbed the first thing that was at hand... as it turned out it was water pouch - and threw it furiously through the entire length of the room. It landed with a thud on one of the shields and busted out splashing around the water.

Clenching and unclenching her hands she stopped in front of the Commander's throne trying to calm her tattered emotions.

The rustling at the door interrupted her concentration.

She did not have to be a seer to know who was the person who came into her tent.

Her hand automatically went to her dagger, grabbed it and quickly turned around sending it with deadly precision.

THUMP!

The blonde did not even blink when knife sank to the hilt in one of the wooden supports of the tent.

The blade shivered and ceased moving a few inches from her right eye.

"Clarke" – Commander snapped.

The girl stood with her head bowed, not daring to look at her.

"Heda ..."

Lexa took a deep breath and growled.

"Usually when I talk with my warriors – I speak with them face to face. Or even this honor The Great and Powerful Clarke has decided to refuse me?"

The girls face immediately jumped upward facing Lexa and her eyes flashed pain and sorrow.

"Heda, I ..."

"Or maybe this applies only to giving me a fair fight?" - she interrupted while her voice was dripping with irony.

"Is this it Trikru?" – she asked. "Do I not deserve a fair fight from you?"

Clarke stood frozen as the Commander approaches her slowly until she stopped a breath away from her.

Lexa smoothly yanked the blade out from of wood and placed it swiftly on the girl's throat.

"I AM HEDA."

Her voice had a temperature of molten lava.

"NO ONE FIGHTS FOR ME… AND NO ONE… NO ONE LET ME WIN!"

The last words changed to a sinister whisper.

"Speak Trikru" - she hissed. "Because it as well may be your last chance to say anything in your life."

A drop of blood flowed slowly from under the edge of the knife and disappeared under girls gray sweatshirt.

"It was not my intention to offend you, Heda" – the blonde whispered.

Lexa eyes narrowed.

"And yet you did. Why?"

Their eyes met for a second and the only thing that was heard intend was the sound of their silent breathing.

Clarke eyes softened she answered with throaty whisper (so quiet that if their faces were not that close to each other ) that the Commander would not have been able to hear it.

"There were others around us, Heda."

Lex blinked uncomprehendingly.

"What?"

"When we train… there are always others around us." - Clarke repeated in the same tone.

Commanders eyebrows lifted slightly, and her hand tightened on the grip of the dagger.

"And it matters because?" - She snapped.

Clarke swallowed.

"Heda... can... never… lose. You can't… loose. Not… when… others can see… it. Even... if it is… during training."

The silence that fell after these words was absolute.

The seconds dragged on slowly, like hours, until Lexa sighed and slowly removed the blade from her throat.

"That was your reason?"

The warrior said nothing, but the answer was evident in her eyes.

Lexa shook her head, keeping her eyes on her.

"By refusing to give me a fair fight - you made me weak" - she said slowly, drawling words carefully.

Clarke pupils widened rapidly.

"No ... n ... like ... but how, Heda?"

Lexa glowered.

"When a fighter does not lose, then he or she is not able to appreciate the true taste of victory."

Clarke's eyes flashed full of sudden understanding and Lexa shook her head and took a few steps back.

All the anger flew away like a from pierced balloon.

Slowly she sheathed her dagger.

Damn it.

Now, knowing the reason behind the girls behavior, it was hard for Lexa to stay in her full resentment-mode anymore. The old truth to any behavior was that the wounded pride was never a good reason to make any harsh decisions.

She rubbed her eyes and sighed quietly, knowing that Clarke closely watch her every move.

She need to make a decision. And it kind of… bummed her out.

…

She had several options to choose from, but those most reasonable were three.

Solution number one was… simple.

She could use the dagger and kill the girl.

No one would even blink, because as Heda she could do almost anything.

It is true that Anya would surely be angry, but finally she would understand this decision if Lexa explained the reasons behind it.

Her people had a lot of rules that they lived by, but most of them always circled around the functions of The Commander.

Heda served her people and sacrificed her whole life for them, but in return she demanded obedience and absolute respect.

What Clarke did may have not be the greatest of the possible offenses, but directly fell under hiding important information from the commanding officer and also treating her in a way that suggested a lack of proper respect.

Lexa pursed her lips in annoyance.

" _What_ _was_ _this girl thinking!"_ \- she shivered disgust. " _How in the world she thought that it was a good idea to lose on purpose? And to let her…. grrrrrrr…. LET HER WIN!?_

No matter what the motives were – you do not do such a thing!

She gritted her teeth.

And as it was not enough Lexa also felt that her personal pride was given swift kick in the ass.

Her heart was the heart of a warrior and it thrived in battle. It did not matter whether she was winning or losing - the most important thing was for her was always the pure honesty of the battle.

Battle was pure.

Battle did not judge.

Battle did not care of your feelings and your past.

Battle simply gave to you or took it away without a prejudice.

And whole this mess…

Hiding her true abilities and making intentional mistakes just to… (oh, horror!) …just to let her win struck directly to the very essence of who she was.

It offended her not only as a leader, but also as a warrior.

Her teeth clenched and she gripped tightly hilt of her knife.

Solution No. 1 was therefore the most appropriate and logical enough and all it could take was one movement of the hand.

Even more so, while watching the sorrow on Clarkes face, Lexa was sure that the girl would not even protest against this decision.

Surprisingly, however, this option did not appeal to Lexa even in the slightest of ways and pressure on the knife noticeably eased.

She tried gathering her thoughts.

…

The solution number two… was also easy.

Lexa could simply ignore the whole thing and stop training. No one knew about what happened - except herself and Clarke – and their trainings lasted only a week. They were both skilled enough too… well, "camouflage"... what was really going on and her other warriors were not able to notice anything off with their practice sessions.

The truth was - if no one knew about it - it could be put simply in the past and never mentioned ever again.

She could put Clarke aside and find a new sparring partner for training, or better yet – stop trying to find substitute and wait until Anya, Gustus or Indra where available once again.

Yes, such solution seemed to be the most rational.

…

Yet… this option was also not very appealing to Lexa in any way.

She snorted softly.

In that case, what remains was only a solution number three.

Continue training with Clarke, but ... under certain conditions.

With surprise she noticed that the final decision came to her simply and easily as if it were something completely natural.

She went to the table in the middle of her tent and grabbed one of the pitchers standing on it. She poured water into two metal cups – she took a small sip of water from one of them and with a thud she put the second on the corner of the table.

"Sit down."

She said to Clarke and made a gesture indicating one of the wooden benches.

The girl's eyes widened.

"Heda?" - She asked hesitantly.

"Sit down and drink. We need to talk."

A uncertain nod answered her and the warrior finally sat down.

Lexa took a another sip.

"I do not drink alcohol, so it's just water. Works for you?"

"Yes, Heda" - came the quiet reply. "I also do not like strong liquor. I have a weak head."

Lexa's lips curled into a smile, but quickly got rid of it.

"Okay" - she said and sat down opposite her.

There was a moment of silence, but after a moment it was broken by the Commander.

"How often do you see me training with Anya?" - She asked.

The girl swallowed.

"All the time, Heda."

"With Gustus?"

"Hundreds of times, Heda."

"And with Indra?"

"The same" - came the quiet reply.

She nodded.

"And if any of them let me to defeat them when I did not deserved it?"

Silence.

"Clarke?"

"No, Heda. Never."

Lexa took a another sip.

"So why did you do it?"

"Heda ..." - girl's voice trembled. "I do not..."

She paused not knowing what to say.

"I'm waiting for you to answer Clarke." – Lexa implored.

The Girl's arms fell, and her eyes met the eyes of the Commander.

"Heda they ... they are ... your generals."

"And it matters because?"

"They ..." – she was clearly looking for the right words. "Onya ... Gostos ... Indra ... are great warriors. They have great skills and they are able to teach a lot. Training with every one of them is not only hard work... but... it's an honor."

Lexa remained silent letting her continue.

"Every warrior who has the opportunity to train with them ... know that... they are the best and it's enough"

She lowered her eyes.

"Everybody knows that. Even ... Even you know it, Heda."

Lexa wordlessly nodded, waiting for the girl to look at her again. It took a while, but finally it happened.

"Winning with them Heda - is honor. Losing to them… it's ... something that can happen every time when you cross your weapon with theirs. This can happen to anyone, Heda…. It can happen to you too."

Lex gave her a small nod.

"It is true" - she agreed. "And when we train we do not go easy on each other. You know that."

"Yes, Heda."

"They do not refrain from knocking me on the ground, when such opportunity arises" – she continued.

Clarke couldn't take her eyes off her.

"And although it doesn't happen often..." - Lexa smiled. "They never shy from wining when opportunity allows it."

"Yes, Heda."

"Sooo, if those three does not have a problem with tha ..."

Clarke closed her eyes and hung her head.

"...why do you?"

Seconds dragged like hours, but Lexa patiently waited for response. Finally, after a few minutes, Clarke muttered something under her breath, but it was so vaguely that Lexa was not able to understand it.

"Louder, Clarke" - she stated calmly.

The girl hesitated, but finally sighed.

"I am no one, Heda."

She had not expected such response. She just wanted react harshly to such a ridiculous statement, but the expression on the girls face stopped her.

"Explain" - she asked quietly.

Clarke grimaced trying to find the right words.

"I'm ... I'm Trikru, Heda." – girl began to speak slowly, carefully measuring every word. "I'm a soldier, and my job is to defend those who are unable to defend themselves."

She paused, but at Lexa's nod - she continued.

"I know the sword, and I know how to use it. I'm not afraid of hard work and I'm not afraid to fight. I believe in the Coalition, Heda."

Lexa shivered listening to the voice filled with such emotion, but she did not allow herself to let the other to notice it.

"I believe in the Coalition, Heda" - she said Clarke. "I believe that all clans can live together in peace and I believe... I believe that you, Heda… you are a person who can make this happen."

The Commander felt like a hammer had hit her square in the head. For a moment she forgot how to breathe.

With extreme effort she forced herself keep her face expressionless.

"Coalition need to be protected, Heda" - Clarke continued. "I need to protect it, even at the cost my life, because ... because it worth such sacrifice."

The mask of indifference fell slightly as Commander eyebrows went up.

"So if you want to protect the Coalition than why...?"

Commander paused when Clarke cut in.

"The Coalition is You, Heda."

Lexa's heart stopped and for the for the first time in her life she almost forgot the tongue in her mouth.

"Clarke..."

"I am sorry, Heda." - The blonde warrior continued. "it was never my intention to offend you. That was the last thing that came to my mind."

"So what was the real reason?" - Lex asked.

The Blonde's eyes had become hard as steel.

"The coalition needs to be strong Heda. Both it's supporters and its opponents need to see it in every moment of every day... they need to see you strong, Heda. I swore my allegiance to the Coalition. I swore my life to it. I swore my life and my sword to you."

She kept talking.

"I will keep my oath even if I had to pay for it with my life. And You…. You are the strength of the Coalition, Heda... and me… I'm just an ordinary soldier... I am nothing ... And I would sooner cut my own throat than let anyone to see how NO ONE stands victorious over you… Even if it had to take place during regular training."

Lex slowly exhaled.

 _So this is what it's all about_! - she thought, but listened on.

"Gostos, Onya, Indra ..." – Clarke continued. "Your training with each of them is a battle commander to the commander. Neither of you could treat this as any form of weakness. And if someone watch you… Whether it is a friend or foe... nobody would think any less of you if you are defeated. Meanwhile, when you train with me ... "

Clarke's voice hardened, and her eyes flashed.

"...if we fight, Heda and… if I am standing victorious over you... and someone would witness it... Heda, this cannot happen… it can't happen and I will not allow it to happen."

She gritted her teeth.

"It was never my intention to offend you. I wasn't in any way trying to show superiority over you or try to go easy on you because I thought you couldn't take it…"

She clenched her fists.

"I swore to protect The Coalition, Heda... I swore to protect you. And I will be doing so even if you are going to kill me for it."

Blue eyes misted and Clarke lowered her head.

"I'm sorry, Heda." - She whispered and fell silent.

...

Lex sat frozen barely been able to hold back emotions raging inside of her.

...

This girl.

This warrior.

This stubborn as a mule, acting on her feelings but also with full premeditation, brave, crazy, naive, lovely, admirable and frustrating… (so much that you want to have a rip your own hair out)… girl.

Lexa felt her right cheek twitch while trying to hide storm of feelings coursing through her.

On one hand, while watching young soldier sitting in front of her, she wanted to hug this girl like a close friend… on the other hand she wanted to strangle her for being a complete idiot.

Of course she knew both options were out of the question, but she couldn't help but wonder.

She clenched her jaw in frustration trying to come to terms with her own thoughts.

Now, when she knew girls motives - she could honestly admitted to herself that she was wrong in the initial assessment.

Good.

The only people who think they are infallible are children and fools, and Lexa was neither one of them.

But what could she do now?

What needs to be done?

…

And suddenly she got it.

…

The solution that appeared in her mind was so clear and obvious that she almost giggled. She succeeded, however to suppress that desire and took one last sip of water. Then she rose from the table and walked towards the exit.

"Come with me" - she said over her shoulder to the gob smacked girl.

Lexa noted with satisfaction that despite the confusion for her behavior - Clarke listened to the order without a hesitation.

When they exited the tent, two warriors belonging to her personal guards wanted to accompany her, but with a quick word Commander ordered them to stay. They listened immediately and froze again at the entrance to her tent.

Knowing that Clarke follow her every step of Lexa passed through the camp and quickly passed the border of the forest. They went deeper without in total silence for about five minutes until they finally reached a small clearing.

Lexa looked around checking if the place was good for what she was planning and she was pleased to notice that it was.

The clearing was an oval space, surrounded on all sides by trees - mostly leafy ones. These were the birch trees, which her people commonly called the Glade Guardians. Lexa reluctantly admitted to herself that it was an an actually acute description. Those trees trees usually grow in clusters - one by one, giving the impression as if they were standing at attention and guarding the forest against all intruders.

The Glade was lined with a carpet of soft grass with yellow buttercups threads and specks smelling camomiles going through it. When she set foot on it for the first time, she felt strangely. She had the irrational feeling that in a few moments some forest spirits are going to expel them from it because they were annoyed by two strangers who were disturbing them their peace.

She shook her head getting rid of such frivolous thoughts.

"Heda?" - She heard from behind her.

She turned and eyed blonde-haired girl.

"I will not say that I do not understand what you were trying to achieve - because it would be untrue ..."

She began slowly, carefully choosing her words.

"You are convinced that your actions protect me and this is enough for you to take and accept the consequences of such behavior. Well... I think you're wrong, but I know you are too stubborn to accept it right away.

Clarke opened her mouth wanted to say something, but Heda's raised hand made the words stick in her throat.

"To lose to someone better than yourself is never a sign of weakness. Whether it is a five-year old child, an ordinary fighter, General or even the Commander. "

The silence in the clearing was absolute.

"To lose and be defeated are two different things, Clarke" – she continued. "Losers – are only those who have not even tried to fight. Defeated – are those who were strong enough to start fighting. This failure never brings any shame. This failure is simply the foundation for future victories. "

Blue eyes stared at her intently.

"Get knocked down, get back up, Clarke. This is our way. You, Gustus, Anya, Indra, I and all of my warriors are equal. And although in fact the fate gives different tasks to fulfill - that does not mean that they are permanently our destiny. "

Clarke's eyes sparkled absorbing every word.

"If I die tomorrow ..." - Lexa said, pretending not to notice grimace of annoyance on the girl's face as if the very idea of her death piqued blond warrior personally. "... My spirit will find another vessel. Another body. Another person worthy of it. If it happens someone else will be the Commander and from that moment your oath will be directed toward him or her. "

Lexa made a gesture toward the surrounding trees.

"We are like a forest, Clarke. Sprout from a single seed, we find a special place to put down roots and grow with each passing day higher and higher towards the sun in the pursuit of our destiny. This does not mean that they always grow upright and firm. Sometimes the wind can bed us, lightning can strike us... and sometimes the man comes, holding an ax and he try to cut us down. Remember that WHO we are NOW, does not define us for the rest of our lives. "

She sighed, hoping for the right words to come to her.

"The fact that the wind will bend us - does not show the world our weakness, but only our strength when we will straighten up once again after surviving the storm. That fire that burns us after we got hit by lightning – does not destroy us. It simply shows us the way how to grow new branches back from the ashes, and those branches will be stronger and more durable than those from the past. "

She took a step toward her.

"This all gives us strength, Clarke... and it gives us the strength for tougher times. So when the time come and will come to cut us down… then our combined experiences and strength be so powerful, that he will break his ax on our bark."

Lexa took one more step and put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"All battles of our lives teach us something, Clarke. Especially the ones that we lost. "

She squeezed her arm and stepped back.

"Do you understand what I want to tell you?" - She asked.

Clarke swallowed loudly and nodded.

"Yes, Heda. I think I do."

Commander cocked her head accepting this answer and with completely different tone of voice continued on.

"Soooo… as we already taken care of this subject, I think it's about time for us to go back to the issue of our training."

"Heda ..."

Once again Lexa raised her hand to silence her.

"I know your position on this and I respect it, Clarke" - she said. "That is why we came here."

The girls eyebrows lifted in a silent question.

"Clarke, from today you will be a member of my personal guards."

Lexa pretended not to hear the loud whistle of air drawn by a girl.

"You think your job is to protect me, even when I think that this is unnecessary? Fine, I'm okay with that and that's why I will give you opportunity to do this. "

A shadow of a smile appeared on the girls lips.

"And we will train together, Clarke" – Lexa continued. "Only this time without any leniency toward each other."

"But Heda ..."

The hesitation in her voice was all too clear, but the Commander only rolled her eyes.

"If you still want to keep your useless charades when we will fight in the company of others, be my guest" - she snorted and gestured around them. "But when we train without any witnesses..."

She pinned the girl with her look.

"...Then I expect from you one hundred percent of involmevent"

She frowned and growled menacingly.

"Do we understand each other?"

Clarke quickly nodded without taking her astonished gaze off her Commander.

"Yes, Heda. I swear! When we train alone – there's no holding back. "

"So be it" - Lexa smiled ironically trying not to show her how much she enjoyed it.

She held her gaze.

"But there is one condition before we do that" – she stated.

Clarke cocked her head curiously waiting for her words.

"Do you want to be one of my guards?" - The Commander asked.

Clarke bowed slightly.

"Yes, Heda."

"You want to train with me on daily basis?"

"Yes, Heda."

"So it will be…" - she stated and paused suddenly. "But first…"

In one fluid motion she pulled out her sword, twirled it around and stood in attack position.

"You need to defeat me" - said, raising her eyebrows in challenge.

Clarke's confused face instantly brightened in a wide smile.

The warrior snorted happily and quickly drew one of her swords and mirrored the position of her commander.

"As you wish, Heda."

Lexa's eyes narrowed.

"Ohhh, I see that someone is a little bit over confident?" - she said ironically. "Well then, let's see how you fight WITHOUT making forced mistakes, shall we?"

Light blue eyes met those of opaline green.

"No holding back, Heda?" - the girl asked.

"No holding back, warrior."

The silence fell in the forest and it was interrupted only by gentle hum of the leaves.

Then Clarke attacked.

Lexa noticed it immediately, and tried to block it, but her steel instead of the second metal encountered air.

The blond's blade cut through the air with the whistle few inches from her right shoulder, so Commander immediately jumped, spun and executed another blow towards the neck of her opponent.

Clarke parried diagonally, made half-pirouette and slashed quickly toward her left side clear with her intentions.

Lexa jumped out of the way and slashed aiming straight at her chest, but just when her blade moved she knew that she fell into girl's clever trap.

She had no chance to protect herself when the hilt of the sword hit her right in the chest and the force of the blow expelled all air from her lungs. Few seconds later she fell hard on the ground.

She gasped when her back met with grass and froze when she felt a pressure of metal… delicate as a feather… right on her throat.

Green eyes stared at her with a calm and respectful challenge.

"Is it enough, Heda?" - Clarke asked.

Stunned Lexa was looking at the warrior not knowing what to say and after few moments… she broke into loud laughter.

It took her only half a minute.

Damn!

Oh Merciful Forest Spirits!

This whole fight lasted only thirty seconds or so and it still was enough for Lexa to have her ass handed to her on a silver platter.

It was amazing!

Her admiring gaze rested on the girl's face.

"It's enough, Klark" - she said softly and the pressure on her throat vanished imidately.

The girl smoothly slipped the blade into a sheath and held out her hand to the commander. Laxa grabbed the offered arm firmly and swiftly rose to her feet, unable to suppress a mischievous grin. Without letting go the warrior she closed the distance between them and muttered with a voice full of playful reproach.

"And this exactly what I wanted, Klark. There will be no more playing around, do we understand each other?"

Clarke snorted softly and stepped back from Lexa while bowing her head in a gesture of respect.

"As you command, Heda."

Shaking her head with an amused disbelief Lexa sheathed her sword quickly.

An intriguing thought suddenly appeared in her head, and with barely concealed amusement asked the blonde.

"Klark?"

"Yes, Heda?"

"Given our past ... hmmm ... a skirmish, I can not help but wonder whether during your training sessions with Anya you also made some 'intentional" mistakes?"

The silence answered her, but all it took was one look at the terrified eyes and red blush on the blond warrior face, for Lexa's loud laughter to bounce off the trees once again.

"Well, Klark... If you think that I was mad at you for hiding your abilities just wait for the reaction of your First, when she finds out that over the years you were giving her unfair advantage. "

Lexa shook her head laughing which only gained in it's intensity when she heard a pleading and full of fear whine escaping Clarke's mouth...

"But, Hedaaaaaaaa ..."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **PRESENT**

"She did whaaaaaaat?!" - Anya's quiet scream of indignation allowed Lexa to drop her mask of indifference for a moment and let her lips quirk in the smallest of smiles.

"As I mentioned. You saw only what Klark let you see. Over the next three years from our first training, she learned a lot better hide her… welll… 'shortcomings'. "

The general choked and for a moment could not utter a single word.

"You knew about this and did not tell me?"

Lexa rolled her eyes.

"It was not my secret to tell."

Anya pouted.

"And for the past three years... you... when there was no one who could witness it... you...? "

Lexa nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. We trained. "

Anya's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Well, it's settled than… When Clark returns to her full health – I am going to kill her!"

Commander shrugged, acknowledging this mock threat, but at the same time she become more serious.

"If... Klark will recover" - she said.

Anya sighed.

"Have faith. This kid is too stubborn to die. "

They were silent for a long moment.

"Heda?"

"Yes, Onya?"

The general pointed to a forest glade covered by chopped bodies.

"Is she really THAT good?" - She asked quietly.

Without taking her eyes from the impressive yet terrible view Lexa whispered.

"She is even better."

* * *

 **Tbc…**


	4. Kudos to You, Lisa Reyes!

**Hello Everyone.** **Sorry for the delay, but you know... life happens :)** **Thank You very much for Your comments and likes. I'm very happy that some of You like this story so far... :)** **Sooooo, without further dealy here's another update of this story. It's not as long as I planned, but I try to do better next time.**

 **In this chapter You'll get to meet some new characters and learn something strange about The Past...**

 **...and as for the quick summary of the past chapters all you need to know is that:**

 **\- Clarke kicks ass**

 **\- Lexa is Lexa**

 **\- Anya, Gustus & Grounders Inc. are... ummm... little confused**

 **\- Aaaand there's also some creepy dude traveling through the ashes of the Old World to the Trikru theritory :)**

* * *

 **CHAPTER: "KUDOS TO YOU, LISA REYES!"**

 **FOREST**

"Heda, you wanted to see me?" - Lexa turned around casting a quick glance at Gustus.  
"Yes. Did you found any live ones? "  
"Yes, Commander. Five of them are still breathing. "  
"Take me to them." – she ordered.  
They crossed the field and entered the tree line.

Four healers were working on four bodies. The last of the wounded was left alone – and he was the only one still conscious. He was sitting under the large oak tree several paces from the others. The bloodied leather was sticking to his body like a second skin.  
His eyes landed on Lexa and met her with… surprisingly… gentle and calm interest.  
Lexa spared him a quick look and turned to Gustus.  
"What of their wounds?" - She asked.  
"These four will survive out there. At least for now. But this one ... "  
He nodded in the direction of sitting Ice Warrior.  
"... His wounds are too severe. Soon his soul will pass to the underworld. "  
Green eyes carefully evaluated the wounded.  
"Did he say anything?"  
"Yes, Heda. He was asking to speak with you. "  
The stone mask was firmly back on girls face.  
"Then he'll get his wish. Let us speak alone, Gustus. "  
"Yes, Heda"  
She slowly made her way to sitting warrior.  
"You wanted to speak Azgeda? Then speak! "

 **X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

 **TONDC**

Sharpening stone slowly moved up and down the edge of the sword uttering the familiar whistling sound. Moments later, the operation was repeated… with steady and continuous pace.

After the required hundred and fifty strokes Indra turned the blade over and continued sharpening it's other side.  
Taking care of her weapons always soothed the seasoned warrior. Regularity and repeatability allowed her to concentrate and come to terms with all the thoughts jumbled in her head.

She sighed when her eyes fell on the young girl who was nervously pacing not far from her.  
"Your walking back and forth is really starting to annoy me" – Indra snapped at her without stopping her task.  
The girl stopped abruptly and threw her arms to her sides with exasperation.  
"I should've gone with them!"  
Indra shrugged.  
"Maybe you should..." – she agreed quietly. "But the orders were clear to wait in TonDC, so that's what we did."  
"But…"  
"There is no _'but',_ Costia" – The general's voice was as hard as steel. "Heda's orders are not to be discussed! Do you think that I do not want to be with them right now? Do you think that I do not boil in anger for what they did? Do you think that I do not desire revenge? Well… then you are mistaken! I want to find them and make them pay… but Heda orders were clear as day… STAY HERE AND BE READY TO RESPOND IN CASE OF ANOTHER ATTACK. So, that's all there is to it."  
The girl sighed.  
"I know, I know… but I should… I should do something more for spirits sake! Do something more for Clarke! Gods! I left her there alone, fighting, hurt, and... "  
The sharpening stone ceased movement with noisy grind.

"Clarke did what she was supposed to do!" – brown eyes shone brightly. "The convoy was attacked and two of my warriors lost their lives because of the Ice Nation treachery and for whatever reason you and Clarke were taken as captives. Then opportunity arrived and she took it for what it was. She freed herself and gave you a chance to escape and find reinforcements."  
"But…"  
"She did her duty, Costia. She did what she was ordered to do. She did what she wanted to do. It was her choice."

"She shouldn't..."  
Indra's voice turned into a growl that instantly silenced the girl.  
"Clarke's job was to protect you and she did exactly that. Nothing less - nothing more!"  
Costia's eyes glittered with unshed tears.  
"She was… she is… my friend" - she whispered quietly.  
The general's eyes softened.  
"I know that. I know you two were close.. I know that… but being you friends did not change the fact that her job was to protect you by any means necessary... and that's what she did. "  
Two streams of tears flowed down on the young girl dark cheeks.  
"She died… because of… me."  
Indra sadly shook her head.  
"No. She died because bunch of cowards decided to break the peace between clans and attack without a warning. "  
Costia quickly wiped her cheeks.  
"She was protecting… me."  
"Yes. She died a warrior's death facing impossible odds. Do not diminish the honor of her sacrifice by regretting of what she did."  
For a moment both women fell silent.  
"It was not her time" – Costa whispered brokenly.  
"Perhaps not…" – Indra agreed. "But we are not the masters of our fate. "  
"What if…"  
Costia's words were interrupted by the sound of the horn at the gates TonDC.  
In one second Indra jumped to her feet and headed that way with the young girl by her side.

She frowned, not knowing what to expect, because she knew it was way too early for Heda to return from her pursuit.

They arrived to the gate just in time to meet a small group of riders..  
The general's gaze rested on bloodied body lying between two horses.  
"Clarke!" – Costia's muffled cry broke the silence and a young girl leaped to the side of the wounded warrior.  
The general took the scene in amazement.

"She is still alive?" – she asked in wonder.

Nyko nodded sharply.

"Yes…. for now at least."

Indra quickly recovered from shock.  
"What do you need?" – she asked Nyko who already jumped from his horse and was checking the condition of the injured girl.  
"I need a hut with big table. Many of her wounds reopened during our travel so I need to close them once again. We don't have much time. "  
Indra nodded sharply and snapped at few warriors standing around her.  
"You heard what he said. Take the girl to a main hut. Carefully!" – she growled her last words.  
They nodded and got to work.

Indra's eyes returned to the healer.  
"What else?"  
"You have to send someone to Polis… to get Abby."  
She furrowed her brows.  
"The journey there and back will take at least day and a half."

Nyko's look told her everything.  
"I know."  
She nodded in the direction of warriors raising a girl from the stretcher.  
"Will she survive until then?" - she asked softly.  
He shook her head uncertainly.  
"I do not know. Maybe."  
Indra turned toward two of her warriors.  
"Ryder, Nomi... take two fastest horses and head for Polis and bring back The Elder Healer. Get back here as soon as possible. "  
The men nodded wordlessly and ran toward the stables.  
"Costia" – she turned to the girl. "Help, Nyko."  
"Of course" – she said quietly and followed the warriors carrying unconscious girl.

Before Nyko could do the same Indra grabbed his arm and stopped him for a moment.  
"What happened?" - She asked softly.  
The healer eyes flashed and his lips curled in a sad smile.  
"This crazy girl decided to take on fifty warriors by herself."

The general's grip tightened noticeably.  
"And...?" - she inquired.  
"And... she killed them all."  
Indra's hand dropped.

 **X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

 **FOREST**

"You wanted to speak Azgeda? Then speak! "  
Tired eyes where watching her intently. The Ice Nation's warrior wasn't young. From the look of it he could be around fifty years of age which in the current times was fairly impressive.

His scarred face also clearly testified that he probably spent most of his life in combat. A series of incisions on his pale arms which disappeared beneath bloodstained shirt clearly meant a long list of defeated opponents.  
His eyes, however - despite the extreme pain - were not angry, she noted it curiously.  
"Heda" – he greeted her.  
"Traitor" - she greeted him as well.  
He nodded lightly with slight smile.  
"It is true. I am a traitor.  
She pinned him with her eyes.  
"What do you want then?"  
He sighed, his eyes not leaving the Commander.  
"Is she alive?"  
Lexa snorted sarcastically.  
"Your queen met well-deserved fate."  
The man did not move.  
"I did not ask for her, Heda."  
"Then who did you ask about?"  
"I was talking about the girl… the girl with… death in her eyes."  
She stiffened. He wanted to know about Clarke?

Interesting.  
"She lives."  
She was amazed when the warriors face bloomed in the full-fledged smile of pure satisfaction.  
"Goooood" - he hissed and pressed harder on a deep wound in his stomach.

Red blood slowly floated from beneath his fingers and quickly congealed on his already bloody skin.  
"Good?" – she asked.  
He smiled.  
"It would be sad… for such... beautiful... battle… to end in a... draw."  
He laughed softly and painfully and then fell silent.  
For a moment Lexa was not sure what to do, but after a while she sighed and sat down next to a dying soldier.

At his questioning look she shrugged slightly.  
"The battle is over and my warrior is fighting for her life. You are dying because your fate decided this way. But it does not mean that you have to die alone. If you want – I can accompany you in your last journey."  
His pain-filled eyes flashed with understanding and gratitude.  
She took a water sack and put it to his mouth letting him take a small sip.

"Mochof, Heda."  
She put the bag on the ground and looked at him closely.  
"Why did you attack my people's convoy? My convoy?" - she asked.  
"The Queen has given such an order."

His answer was simple and on point.  
"I am your Heda" - she growled.  
"Yes, you are… but she was our Kwin."  
Lexa shook her head.  
"As long as I live, I'll never understand your clan."  
To her surprise, the warrior snorted softly while wincing in pain.  
"Just as Azgeda will never understand Trikru."  
A shadow of a smile appeared on her lips.  
"Are you suggesting that our mutual misunderstandings... will always divide the Coalition?"

He question was answered with another quirk of his lips.  
"The word ' _misunderstandings_ ' sound way better than ' _mutual stubbornness'_ don't you think so, Heda?"  
She smiled again but quickly grew serious.  
"Such attack in the time of peace is a declaration of war. You must have known that and your Kwin must have known that. And still you did it. Can you tell me why?"

He was silent for a moment, but after few minutes he pursed his lips clearly coming to a decision.  
He cast a quick glance to the sides, making sure that no one else was around them and then lowered his voice to a whisper.  
"Are you sure you want to know Heda?"

"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't sure" – her answer was simple.

He was watching her intently.

"The reason for this attack died with my Kwin. There was five other warriors beside me who knew about it and they died today with her… as for me, well…"

He laughed to himself.  
"...you know perfectly well that I will follow them very soon. Sooooo, maybe you should give it a rest?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Sometimes it is better not knowing" – he said watching her intently.

Suddenly she understood what he was talking about.

The blood in her veins froze, her heart stopped and her throat clenched with uncertainty.

She sensed what was coming, but she nodded her head anyway.  
"Tell me."  
His eyes held her own unflinchingly.  
"A few months ago our Kwin received the information about you, Heda. Information that she decided to take an advantage of."  
She blinked.  
"Information about me?"  
"Yes" - he nodded. "It was reported to her that in your life appeared someone new…. Someone close to you, Heda… So she decided to take her from you."

 **X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

 **TONDC**

"We have to find the rest of the wounds" - said Nyko. "Will you help?"  
Costia nodded.  
"Of course. Give me the knife – I'll cut her clothes. "  
When Nyko handed her a small blade and she slowly cut the leather on Clarke's right leg.

The bloodied leather was not a hard obstacle and after the first cut, stainless steel moved quickly and effortlessly along the body.

When she reached the end of one thigh, then she moved to the second one. She repeated the process but this time she cut the way around to the belt.

She did the same with sleeves of her shirts and sliced them up to the flange, and then cut in the center the whole width of the chest.

When she was finished she put the blade to the side and looked at Nyko.  
"Good"- he said. "Her clothes prevented her for bleeding too much. Unfortunately, when we remove it now - the scabs will open again so we had to act quickly. Get alcohol ready, ok?"  
Costia raising a bottle from the table.  
"Soooo, we will go like this…" - the healer started. "You find the wound and flush it with the alcohol, I suture them and burn if necessary. We do so until everything is done. Got it?"  
"Yes."  
"Ready?"  
Costia leaned forward for a second allowing her lips to touch lightly the bloodied forehead of a wounded warrior.  
"Stay strong, Clarke" - she whispered to her friend and then looked at Nyko.

"Now, I'm ready."  
"Ok, let's do this."

They started to work.

 **X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

 **FOREST**

"It was reported to her that in your life appeared someone new…. Someone close to you, Heda… So she decided to take her from you."

Lexa's world stopped and she was sure that if she wasn't sitting right now that her knees would buckle and she would fall to the ground.

…

Costia.  
…

She was Ice Queen's intended target?  
That's why she attacked a convoy of humanitarian aid.

…  
The blood in the veins became a molten lava and her eyes narrowed in fury.  
"it was reported?" – she growled.

He shook his head.  
"You know very well Heda that in Polis, spies hide in every corner."  
Her whole body tensed.  
"Who told her that?"  
"That… I will not tell you."  
She quickly grabbed the handle of her knife.  
"I could MAKE you to tell me."  
He kept her gaze and his lips contorted in the shadow of a smile.  
"Yes, you could…" – he admitted slowly. "But know as well as I that you don't have time to squeeze it out of me. Torture takes time and we both know that I don't have any left."

He put little more pressure on his wounds.

"I do not… think… you want to waste your time… on the task… that is doomed to fail."  
Lexa gritted her teeth, knowing that the warrior was right.

Torture was effective, but it was not a solution that gave the interrogator instant results.

Her fingers loosened on the blade and inquired.  
"So why are you telling me anything at all?"  
Almost imperceptibly he shrugged.  
"My Kwin is dead ... My warriors have died ... But… my clan is still there."  
She remained silent allowing him to speak.  
"I know ... that… what happened today ... what my Kwin… what we did... it… can start a war... which in result… can destroy my whole clan... "  
She did not answer, but her eyes told him everything.  
"That's why… you need to know, Heda… that with me… dies the last person… who knew about the real purpose of this mission."

He stopped for a minute gathering his strength.

"My clan, Heda... my people... they didn't know… about any of that... "  
Her voice was quiet, but hard as steel.  
"Why should I believe you?" – she asked. "Dying people will say anything because they have nothing to lose."  
He nodded.  
"It is true. Well ... I guess… what I want you… to do… is to trust me that I'm telling you the truth…"

She shook her head.

"Trust you?!" – she almost snorted. "After what you've done? After your betrayal? You expect me to trust you?!"  
He nodded.

"I'm hoping you'll do this."

Her eyes shone.  
"The words of traitors are valuable currency."  
He smiled.  
"That's right, Heda… and this is for you…. Now… to decide what you… believe… I have nothing…. Else to offer…. You…. But the word of a…. traitor."  
She was silent for a long while lost in her thoughts. Finally she nodded accepting unavoidable and asked quietly.  
"Your Kwin… What she was planning to do with… her?"  
"You already know the answer… to your question… Heda."  
She gritted her teeth and hissed with vengeance.  
"Yes, I can imagine."  
He winced pressing harder on his wounds.  
"Then believe me, Heda… It is better… not to hear it out loud."  
Lexa took a long breath.  
"What went wrong?" – she asked.

"With… the attack?"

"Yes."  
He shrugged.  
"The Queens spies told her about someone close to you, but… they did not... they couldn't confirm one thing..."  
"What was it?"  
"Which… girl was… yours."  
She blinked rapidly.  
"What are you talking about?!"  
He cocked his head to the side watching her carefully.  
"Spies report was mentioning of two people… two women… who remained in your… company… who could be close to you..."  
He coughed hard spitting more blood but soon continued.  
"The spies mentioned… a Healer… and a Warrior."  
Lexa's heart stopped.  
"Each one of them… was spending… enough time… in your company."  
Lexa felt dizzy.  
"So that's why our Kwin… ordered… to take… both of them."

 **X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

 **TONDC - MANY HOURS LATER**

"Do you think that's enough?" – Costia quiet voice sounded in the hut.  
Nyko rubbed his eyes tiredly, trying to come to terms with his thoughts after long hours of work.  
"I do not know" - he said. "She lost a lot of blood, and it still worries me this morning."  
The young girl took a wet cloth and gently wiped forehead of the wounded warrior.  
"Now we have to wait for Abby."  
"Yes, that's all we can do for now."  
She soaked the cloth one more time and started to clean blood stains from Clarke's arms.  
"Thank the Spirits she was unconscious all this time. I do not even want to imagine the pain she would feel if it were other way."  
"You've got that right."  
A deep moan interrupted their conversation, and both healers quickly looked at the unconscious girl lying on the table.  
Costia placed her hand on her forehead and frowned.  
"She's got a very high fever." – she noticed with worry.

Nyko nodded.  
"She fights very hard... But such number of injuries will result in the complete exhaustion of her whole body. "  
Another soft moan escaped from her throat.  
The young healer dampened another piece of bandage and then put it gently on the girl's forehead.  
"The fever will bring her nightmares" – Nyko said carefully.  
The brown-haired girl cast him a quick look.  
"Is there anything else we can do for her?"  
He shook his head.  
"Not at the moment... Now it's all up to her."  
Wounded warrior groaned and from her mouth escaped a barely audible whisper.  
 _"Where... where are we going mommy?"_

 **X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

 **PAST - THE ARK**

"Where… where are we going mommy?"  
"Shhh, baby. Try to keep quiet. We're going on a trip. "  
"A trip? But how? Where can we go mommy? "  
"It's a surprise, Clarke. But we cannot allow anyone to see us. It ... it would ruin all the fun."  
"Okay. I can be quiet. "  
"Thank you, Honey."  
 _Woosh. PING!_  
 **"This is Restricted Elevator. Please enter your credentials. "**  
"Abigail Griffin. Code 8B-dash-RED. "  
 **"Credentials accepted. Please state your destination. "**  
"Hangar Bay. Escape pods. "  
 **"Confirmed."**  
 _Woosh. PING!_  
 **"Level 8. Hangar Bay."**  
"Come on, baby. Let's go. "

"Where are we going, mommy?"  
"Shhhhh ..."

"We are almost here, baby. Just a little moment, okay? "  
"Yes, mom."

"Okay. Here we go ... Lisa… my friend… I sure hope to God that this electric gizmo you gave me is going to work… okayyyy… here we go."  
 **"ESCAPE POD 11. PLEASE ENTER ADMIN CODE."**  
 _Phluck!_  
 **"Accessing launch sequence."**  
 _Ping. Ping. Ping_.  
 **"Access granted. Good morning Chancellor Jaha. "**  
"Yesssss! Thank You, Lisa Reyes! You're a God Damn Genius! "  
 _Wooosh._  
"Mommy?"  
"Okay baby, we need to get in."  
"Are we going outside ?"  
"Yes, Darling. You always wanted to see what's there right? "  
"Yes, but ..."  
"No buts, baby. Sit here. "  
"Okay."  
"Good girl. Now, let me buckle you up. "  
"It's a little tight, mom."  
"Yes I know, but it will keep you safe."  
"I understand."  
 **CLICK.**  
"Here we go."  
"Will you sit next to me?"  
"Of course, honey. Wherever you go - I go, my love. Just let me buckle up too. "  
 **CLICK.**  
"All we need now is to close this up."  
 _Wooosh. KLANG!_  
 **"Please enter the drop zone coordinates."**  
 _Phluck!_  
 **"Mainframe access granted. Redirecting launch procedure. Drop zone coordinates changed."**

…  
"Yesssssssss"  
"Mommy?"  
"Yeah, baby?"  
"Is Daddy coming with us?"  
"N ... not this time, Clarke."  
"Ohhh ... okay."

"Here we go ..."  
 _PING. PING. PING._  
 _"Initiated Launch sequence. Prepare for disembark in t-minus 15 seconds... "_  
"Honey, listen to me ..."  
 **"14..."**  
"It will be a little loud for a moment."  
 **"13..."**  
"But do not be afraid, okay?"  
 **"12..."**  
 **"11..."**  
"Yes, mommy. Do not worry. I am brave. "  
 **"10..."**  
"Yes you are, my love. You are the bravest! "  
 **"9..."**  
"I Love you, mommy."  
 **"8..."**  
"I love you too, kiddo."  
 **"7..."**  
"STOP! STOP THE LAUNCH RIGHT NOW ! "  
 **"6..."**  
"Shit."  
"Daddy?"  
 **"5..."**  
"ABIGAIL! STOP IT AT ONCE !  
 **"4..."**  
"Come with us, Daddy!"  
 **"3..."**  
"ABIGAIL NOW !"  
 **"2..."**  
"ABIGAIL! ABORT NOW ! "  
"Go to hell, Jake!"  
 **"1..."**  
 **"LAUNCH SEQUENCE COMMENCED. EXECUTING DROP OFF. "**  
 _BAM!_  
 _BAM!_  
 _BAM!_  
"Daddy !"  
"CLARKE !"  
"Mommyyyyyyyyyy ..."  
"It's going to be okay baby, just close your eyes ... please just close your eyes ..."

 **X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

 **PRESENT - TONDC (TWO DAYS LATER)**

"Open Your Eyes, baby."

"Please, please just open ... Those beautiful blue eyes."

"Mommy?"  
"Clarke? '  
"Mom?"  
"Yes it's me, baby."  
"It hurts ... .."  
"I know, my love ... I know ... but please. Just stay strong for me, okay? "  
"Oh ... okay ... I'll ... try ... mom ..."

"Clarke?"

"Clarke ?"

"CLARKE !"

 **X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

 **To be continued ...**


	5. It is ill advised to mock The Commander

Long time – no update, but finally… here's another chapter of my story. Hope You'll like it.

 ** _Chapter summary:_**

Hunt... and few flashbacks - while I'm still trying to warp up the beginning… yes, I said it - THE BEGINNING… of this story.

 ** _Author's note:_**

There's a Greek phrase/expression in the text: _**Moro Mou**_ – in translation in means _"My Baby" &_ its often used as a term of endearment between lovers.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **CHAPTER 5: "It is ill advised to mock The Commander"**

" _When its time has come, the prey goes to the hunter."_

 _\- Old Persian Proverb_

 **xxx**

 **FOREST NEAR TONDC**

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out...

Stop.

Look everywhere around you… and once again take a breath and then release it.

Slowly.

Carefully.

With precision.

Noiselessly.

Step by step.

...

The eighth hour just passed since Lexa followed a lone deer's trail.

Stubbornly, though cautiously she pushed herself forward through the woods in pursuit of this elusive creature.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Step… by… step.

She had no intention to give up. Okay... maybe she would leave him alone if the animal simply ran away and disappeared in the thick forest, simply saving it's life.

But this… this particular bull seemed to simply mock her.

…

And that was, well… "slightly" disrespectful.

…

She gritted her teeth and shook her head in resignation.

This is not how it supposed to go. Getting irritated with the dumb animal that hasn't got the slightest idea how much irritating it is to the hunter.

She smiled to herself.

Stupid beast.

It looked almost like this deer wanted her to follow him, but just when Lexa was hoping that the animal is going to just behind the next tree… the devious beast was disappearing once again and more and more annoyed Commander had to continue her pursuit, hoping to find her game before darkness falls. Because in darkness the trail was bound to get lost and then she would had to return home empty handed.

She sighed and forced herself to a brief break.

She was not going to start the fire, because she was quite close to Pauna's hunting grounds, but she simply had to collect her thoughts and be safe while doing it. That's why she climbed quickly on the nearby large tree.

As comfortable as she possibly could, she sat on one of the thick branches and ate few pieces of dried meet and while chewing it… she once again cursed the clever animal.

She did not take much food with her, because she did not plan for such a long hunt – but… well… she always liked challenges, so it didn't even occurred to her to quit now.

When she satisfied her hunger – than she took care of her thirst taking a few sips of fresh water from small water-skin.

She closed her eyes and her thoughts floated towards TonDC…

Towards the warrior girl marked with horrible wounds…

Towards the young woman who was fighting with all her power to survive…

…

She took a deep breath and dived into the memories of the last days.

 **xxx**

 _It took several hours for her warriors to clear the battlefield and burn the bodies of the fallen._

 _It was not an easy task because they had to build enough of decent funeral pyres to cope with forty bodies. It was additionally difficult by the fact that the day before the whole area of the battle underwent a strong storm and warriors had trouble find_ _ing_ _enough of dry wood. Luckily in the end, however, they did everything that was required of them and the dead were burned as the tradition dictated._

 _Lexa knew that most of her people would not mind to leave all traitors carcasses to be devoured by the forest animals… truth she did not mind it too… but after her talk with the dying Azged_ _a_ _she couldn't made such_ _a_ _decision._

 _The d_ _ead deserved_ _a_ _proper burial and_ _whether_ _or not Azgeda were traitors – the fact was that they were executing the orders of their Kwin. It was because of Nia's sick ambition and lust for power – the whole massacre happened. It was not up to her to deny soldiers due respect only because of the mistakes made by their commander._

 _When all_ _the_ _bodies were burned and the only traces of the battle was brownish red grass, Lexa mounted her horse and ordered her warriors to return to TONDC._

 _Reaching the village took them less than an hour - despite even the need to transport the remaining four unconscious prisoners - and as soon as they passed the gates Lexa immediately headed toward the largest hut in the village where she was sure – that the wounded warrior was laying._

 _Heda felt strange, and her heart was beating so hard like never before._

 _She opened the door slowly, and when she came inside her gaze quickly stopped at three people gathered inside._

 _Nyko and Costia raised their eyes from the body of_ _the_ _wounded warrior lying on the table and their eyes locked on the Commander._

 _Clearly tired Nyko nodded his head in greeting, and she responded to him the same way._

 _Her attentive eyes watched him closely clearly seeing how much the effort cost him the last few hours. Her gaze fell on his hands, which, despite app_ _a_ _r_ _e_ _nt attempts to wash, still clearly bore the traces of blood._

 _She tilted her head and her eyes met_ _Costia's burning gaze._ _The t_ _ired girl watched carefully clearly trying to stop herself from approaching her and taking Heda into her arms._

 _Lexa almost imperceptibly shook her head giving her clear sign that this is not the time nor the place for it. Even if she trusted Nyko immensely and was certain that he knew about her and Costia_ _'s_ _relationship – she always put her personal feelings second to her obligations of The Commander._

 _Costia nodded her head understanding her behavior._

 _She swallowed dry feeling in her throat and with a supreme effort, summoned to her face the familiar mask of indifference._

 _"Is she still alive?" - She asked softly, pointing to girl clad in bandages._

 _"She's alive" – Nyko announced leaning forward and gently wiping bloodied forehead of injured girl._

 _She took a step closer to the table and looked carefully at Clarke._

 _There was a clear movement under closed eyelids._

 _She reached out and gently touched face of_ _the_ _unconscious warrior._

 _"She has a high fever" – she noticed knowing that her remark is nothing new for the two healers._

 _Costia sighed quietly standing next to her._

 _"Her body is fighting a severe weakness, high fever is natural in such cases."_

 _She looked at her softly._

 _"With the fever also_ _will_ _come hallucinations, Heda, and unfortunately it further weakens her. Luckily so far she is handling it quite good."_

 _Lexa nodded and met the girls eyes._

 _"And what about her wounds?"_

 _"We s_ _titched_ _everything that needed to be sewn, and so far all the bleeding_ _has_ _stopped. The stitches are not very strong so we had to tie her to the table in order to protect her from tearing them up in her nightmares."_

 _The Commander_ _'s_ _eyes returned to the wounded girl cataloging to her the memory of every cut her warrior received._

 _She clenched her teeth, trying to calm emotions raging inside of her. Feeling such turmoil was not something she had ever felt before and by the spirits she didn't know what to think about all of that._

 _She shook her head getting rid of uncertain thoughts and met Costia's careful look._

 _"Will she survive?" – she asked._

 _The girl bit her lip in uncertainty._

 _"Perhaps" - she whispered. "I rarely had the opportunity to see a such number of injuries on one person. But Clarke is... "_

 _She paused, not knowing what to say, and Lexa seeing it finished for her._

 _"Klark, is strong" - she said. "She is going to be okay."_

 _Again her_ _gaze_ _fall_ _s_ _on Nyko._

 _"Did you send for Abb_ _y_ _?"_

 _He nodded._

 _"As soon as we got to TONDC. If the spirits allow it she should be here tomorrow around noon."_

 _A q_ _uiet groan echoed in the room and the three warriors focused on lying girl who struggled violently. After few moments she_ _stopped breathing heavily still unconscious._

 _Lexa's eyes narrowed sharply and then she straightened up and slowly walked toward the exit._

 _She opened the door and_ _said_ _"I want to be kept informed about her health."_

 _She snapped, barely holding back emotions, but her eyes quickly softened, looking at tired two._

 _"Call two other healers to help. Let them take over her care for several hours… and you... and you go and try to get some rest."_

 _She ordered softly and nodded toward Clarke._

 _"you will not help her while falling on your faces from the fatigue."_

 _Then she turned and walked out of the hut._

 **xxx**

The warm rays of the sun broke through the canopy of leaves and fell on Lexa's face waking her from her stupor. She did not rest even in slightest and in addition her whole body became rigid from maintaining an uncomfortable position.

She descended from the tree and when she got down she stretched her muscles. When her body finally stopped protesting she started to continue her journey.

It wasn't long before the huntress once again found the trail of the elusive animal. It looked like that deer was quite busy over these few quiet minutes.

Once again Lexa got the impression that the bull was joking around with her while not fleeing the straight path from her and dodging among the trees taking her for a fool. If Lexa was less attentive hinter, she would lose not only an animal but also herself in the thick forest.

Okay, okay… Maybe this last statement was a bit of an exaggeration. She was fairly sure that there was not many people who knew forest surrounding TONDC better than her. All in all, the village where she was born was only half a day's journey away.

The Trikru Territory was her home long before Polis took that place.

Undaunted by initial setbacks, she passed trees, shrubs and bushes, trying to not fall for false leads.

She walked carefully looking for broken branches, moved leaves and all traces directing her in her hunt.

With each step the young woman felt more and more that she was approaching her prey quite quckly.

She knew she was on the right path.

Minutes passed quickly and along with them noon also came and went.

A few hours later the sun has wandered from east to west and the world around her started to prepare for upcoming evening.

...

Lexa started to get angry once again.

…

This deer still mocked her making her doubt her own abilities and not caring about their imminent confrontation.

She began to worry. If she did not get the beast soon – she will have to acknowledge her defeat and turn back to camp.

…

Fortunately, however, her morose thoughts were little premature.

…

As soon as she stood at the mouth of a small valley which opened suddenly in front of her - she saw with great relief – the main reason why she get up so early in the morning.

The deer stood there as if nothing had happened. Like he was certain that he lost the stubborn hunter a long time ago. Without a care in world he was nipping the grass and tasty herbs.

Lexa had to admit that it was a particularly handsome specimen with a beautiful white coat and powerful antlers.

The girl admired the beast for a few moments, but it's amazing beauty did not change the plans of the hunter.

It looked like the animal didn't discover her presence yet, so she began to creep down the slope with a bow in her hand, trying to steer clear of the treacherous branches and stones.

She was not going to reveal herself even with the slightest of murmurs.

When she was finally in a convenient distance for a shot, she cleared her mind of all unwanted thoughts, focusing only on one of them.

On one brown deer.

Reaching the quiver, she took out an arrow with black primaries and then tightened the string, slowly... to the full stretch of the arc.

She felt like it took forever but the luck was on her side and the bull didn't notice a thing.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in…

She was ready.

She let out an arrow.

Breathe out.

 **xxxx**

 _Lexa unbuttoned_ _the_ _staples holding her armor, and bit by bit she put the individual parts on the chair next to her. When she was finished, she walked into the room, which Indra prepared for her - and picked up a cup from the table. She took a few sips of cold water, and then put it back with a quiet clatter._

 _She looked up at the sound of the door opening and closing._

 _The mask of indifference fell from her face in one second and with four quick steps she welcomed a brown-haired girl by taking her in her arms. She hugged her as hard as she could and hid her face in her hair, unable to utter a single word._

 _Costia understood her silence and she closed her eyes, unable to stop the tears escaping from her eyes._

 _For a moment they both stood still th_ _e_ _n Lexa pulled away slightly, her fingers gently wiping her lovers cheeks._

 _Her lips rested for a second on her forehead, then quickly moved on eyelids, cheeks, and finally found her mouth._

 _She kissed her desperately._

 _She kissed her with hunger only comparable to the feelings with which the dying man in the desert takes the last sip of life-giving water._

 _Lexa placed her hand_ _s_ _on girls cheeks, trying to do the impossible – to hold her even closer to her._

 _When the lack of air has become a problem for both of them, the women broke apart breathing heavily._

 _Costia snuggled closer to Heda putting her head on her shoulder and Lexa gently stroked her hair with reverence almost as if she feared that the other_ _girl would suddenly disappear._

 _"I thought I lost you" - Lex_ _a_ _whispered, burying her face in her brown curls._

 _Costia kissed her again. Gently._

 _"I'm fine... I'm fine..."_

 _L_ _ong minutes passed with any of them saying a word._

 _"When I saw you emerging from the trees on a horse… I could not breath_ _e_ _..."_

 _Lexa whispered, h_ _er_ _voice shaking with emotion._

 _"Then I wanted to..." - she paused._

 _"I know, I know..." – Costia's mouth touched her forehead. One more time "I know you could not say anything... do anything... react... I know..."_

 _She kissed her._

 _"Do not think about it, please. I'm fine."_

 _Lexa's embrace gained in its intensity._

 _"You're safe... you're safe..." – she repeated the words like a mantra._

 _Costia pulled back slightly, and this time she wiped two streams of tears flowing down Heda's face._

 _"I'm fine."_

 _"You are fine…"_

 _"I am unharmed…"_

 _"You are…"_

 _Costia took_ _Lexa's face in her_ _hands._

 _"I'm alive."_

 _A p_ _ained groan escaped Lexa's throat, th_ _e_ _n she managed to nod._

 _"You're alive."_

 _She hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. Costia's silky hair smelled of jasmine._

 _Costia loved jasmine._

 _Lexa loved jasmine._

…

 _The Commander shivered chasing dark thoughts._

 _For a long time both were silent, because the words were not needed._

 _Costia sighed and pushed back a few centimeters looking softly in the eyes of Heda._

 _"Clarke saved me" - she said quietly._

 _Lexa stiffened at the mention of a blonde warrior and for a split second – not knowing why – she felt excruciating pain in the middle of her chest. It felt almost like her heart tried to jump out straight from her breast._

 _She clenched her teeth and she forced her face into a mask of indifference._

 _"She did what she supposed to do."_

 _She said the words quietly, trying the hardest for her voice not to tremble._

 _Costia's gaze softened even more._

 _"She did more than was required of her" – she corrected quietly._

 _Lexa closed her eyes and sighed deeply. When she opened them again she kissed Costia and released her from her arms. She turned around and took a few steps further into the room._

 _"I do not know what you expect me to say?"_

 _Lexa clearly felt the amber eyes on her back._

 _"The truth."_

 _"The truth?" - Lexa turned quickly giving her an angry look, but then it immediately softened. "I told the truth."_

 _The g_ _irl_ _'_ _s lips quirked in a shadow of a smile._

 _"Clarke is my friend" – she said slowly._

 _Lexa lowered her eyes._

 _"I know" - she admitted._

 _"She is yours as well."_

 _Heda jumped away a step and her eyes flashed._

 _"She is one of my warriors. That's all!" - she snapped._

 _Costia took a step toward her._

 _"She is your friend" - she said._

 _Another step._

 _"She's n… she… does what any of my warriors do… her job."_

 _One more step._

 _"You care about her."_

 _Lexa gritted her teeth._

 _"I care about her following my orders."_

 _One more step and stop.._

 _"You care about her."_

 _She shook her head._

 _"It's you I… only… care about."_

 _Costia smiled sadly and gently touched her cheek._

 _"Lexa... Moro Mou(*)..." – she whispered. "It is okay to care..."_

 _The Commander pulled back, but the other girl's hand grabbed her firmly by the arm and_ _kept her_ _in place._

 _She knew that if it were anyone else in her place than he or she would probably be dead right now._

 _But Costia was not afraid._

 _She was never afraid of Lexa._

 _Even when they weren't together yet – both of them were always able to communicate on the level that others do not dared to think of._

 _Maybe it was just one of the reasons why both of them cared so much about each other._

 _"Moro Mou... It's okay to care about her... about me... about everyone else."_

 _Heda's lips froze In grimace._

 _"When you care…" – Costia continued. "When you care - it gives you strength."_

 _"No it doesn't."_

 _"Yes, it does. And you know it. "_

 _Lexa shook her head._

 _"No! I can't…"_

 _"Lexa..."_

 _Blue eyes flashed with pain._

 _"I can't Costia! You… you do not… understand..."_

 _"So help me understand" - she whispered._

 _Lexa blinked fighting with herself and then she finally shook her head._

 _"It was not a random attack," - she said quietly._

 _A hand gently stroking her cheek stopped still._

 _"What are you talking about?"_

 _"The convoy was not a target. It wasn't their goal rob the medical supplies… it was not about that."_

 _Costia frowned._

 _"So why they attacked?"_

 _The mask was once again full on_ _the_ _warriors face._

 _"I'm Heda" - she said. "As long as I live, anyone I care about is in danger. You are in danger... Kla..."_

 _She stopped for a second and continued._

 _"If I care about someone and someone find_ _s_ _out about it – th_ _e_ _n that person becomes a target."_

 _"I do not understand what it have to do with..."_

 _The girl started but was quickly interrupted by Heda in the middle of the sentence._

 _"You were the target, Costia!"_

…

 _"What?"_

 _"It's true. Somehow they knew there is someone very close to me... Spies in the Polis sen_ _t_ _a message about it to the Queen of Ice Nation… and… then she tried to take advantage of it. "_

 _"Lexa..."_

 _Something in Heda broke at this moment._

 _She wanted to scream, rage and shout but only thing she could do was to choke a strangled whisper from her throat._

 _"You need to understand! They took you because they thought I will do anything for someone I care about!"_

 _"But you would never..."_

 _"I would give them everything !"_

 _That silence that fell after this words were deafening._

 _"W... what?"_

 _"For you..." – the broken whisper escaped from her mouth. "For Kla... For you, Costia! If they got you - I would give them whatever they want...!"_

 _"No, you wouldn't!"_

 _"Yes, I would!... If… if they demanded my life in exchange for yours... for... for... for anyone else I c… care about - I would gladly give them it."_

 _"Don't you dare saying it!"_

 _"But that's the truth!" - Lex's eyes were ablaze. "And if they killed you... it would… destroy me!"_

 _"Lexa..."_

 _"You know it's true."_

 _She took the amber-eyed girl into her arms and hugged tightly._

 _"It would destroy me" - she repeated brokenly._

 _The w_ _omen fell silent hugging themselves like their life were depending from it._

 _Costia cried._

 _Lexa hugged her more._

 _For a long while all what was heard in the room were deep breaths and quiet_ _whispers of comfort. After a while both of them finally calmed enough to speak once again._

 _"How do you know about it?"_

 _"One of the Azgeda warriors told me before he succumbed to his wounds."_

 _"And you trust his words?"_

 _"I have no choice, but... I think he was telling me the truth. He knew he was dying, but in his last act in his life he wanted to protect his clan. "_

 _"How?"_

 _"The attack on the convoy was supposedly thought only by Nia without the knowledge of her council. Only her and a few of her most trusted warriors... Including the wounded one... only them were privy to the real purpose of this mission... and now… all of them are dead. "_

 _"Who was this warrior?"_

 _Lexa furrowed her eyebrows for a second._

 _"He was an older warrior, the most seasoned one I saw among the Azgeda... I thought I recognize him from somewhere before we started talking, but... then he confirmed it... and I knew he was telling the truth. At least in this case. "_

 _She took a deep breath._

 _"His name was Moro... and before Nia was chosen to be Kwin of Azgeda… she was his Second."_

 _Costia nodded in understanding and quietly asked._

 _"What if he lied?"_

 _"I've heard of Moro before... before my time, before I bec_ _a_ _me Heda... I've heard stories... He was a great warrior. Skilled, powerful, vicious and unbeatable in combat. He was the epitome of Azgeda and he was feared and respected by many. People tell tales of his ruthlessness on the battlefield. He was a monster. He was a warrior. He was… He was all those things, but… what he was not - was a liar. Even his enemies knew that."_

 _Lexa stepped back and stared pacing._

 _"Soo... yeah... I cannot be absolutely sure that what he was saying was true, but frankly I simply have no other choice."_

 _Costia sat quietly on one of the wooden benches._

 _"So what happens now?" - She asked._

 _Heda stopped._

 _"I'm honestly not sure. Sure as hell I need to find those Azgeda spies in Polis, but the most important thing is to prepare my army to the Ice Nations response after death of Their Kwin... "_

 _"Wait, wait, wait, wait!"_

 _A choked shout escaped Costia's throat when she jumped from the bench like she was bitten by a snake._

 _Lexa looked at her questioningly confused by this reaction._

 _"What?"_

 _"WHAT? W-H-A-T? "- the girls mouth flew open in disbelief. " What do you mean by... 'death of Their Kwin'?"_

 _Lexa's eyebrows furrowed._

 _"Exactly what it's supposed to mean."_

 _"Nia is dead?!"_

 _The Commander's confusion grew even more._

 _"Of course she is. Costia... "_

 _"How?"_

 _"What... what do mean by 'how'? Klark killed her. "_

 _"SHE DID WHAAAAAAT?"_

 _This time Heda's mouth flew open._

 _"You really didn't know?"_

 _"No! What... How... WHEN? HOW? "_

 _"I thought Nyko told you already?"_

 _She shook her head._

 _"He did not tell me anything... How? When? "_

 _"In the battle... after she helped you escape. You really never saw Nia there?"_

 _"Well… I didn't look around... I guess... Clarke got us free just before we met the other half of the war party .. so Nia had to be somewhere in there..."_

 _Lexa nodded quietly observing_ _the_ _gob smacked girl._

 _"The last thing I saw…. after Clarke cut my horse to send it into gallop... the last thing I saw was her… was turning and facing Azgeda with... two swords in her hands..."_

 _She shuddered._

 _"By Gods! So you tell me that Clarke killed Nia? The Nia ?! The Queen of Azgeda ?! "_

 _Lex nodded and the smallest of smiles appeared on her lips._

 _"Yes, she did."_

 _Costia hid her face in her palms for a second._

 _"I cannot believe it."_

 _"Yeah..." - Heda smirked. "That makes two of us."_

 _Costia took a few steps toward the Commander and delicately placed a hand on her cheek._

 _"This is unbelievable... and more of that… she still survived."_

 _"Yes. It was quite a feat to achieve. "_

 _Costia laughed silently._

 _"Thank the gods she was able to keep them busy until you and your warriors arrived."_

 _Lexa froze._

 _"I mean..."_

 _Costia continued not noticing her love_ _'_ _rs change in demeanor._

 _"I do not know how she did it because you were quite far from that meadow, but..."_

 _"Costia..."_

 _"... I knew she is quite skilled warrior. Oh, come on... "_

 _"Costia..."_

 _"... She was able to stand her ground. It's simply... "_

 _"Costia..."_

 _"... she is amazing. I guess all those training fights with you really paid off... "_

 _"Costia!"_

 _The girl paused surprised by Lexa's loud voice. She looked at her not understanding what caused this sudden shout._

 _"W... what?" - She asked confused._

 _"You really don't know?"_

 _"Know what?"_

 _Heda rolled her eyes and shook her head helplessly._

 _"I am going to kill Nyko" - she murmured to herself._

 _"What? Why? What Nyko has to do with anything here? "_

 _She wanted to move away but Lexa h_ _e_ _ld her in place._

 _"Costia... Moro Mou... We... I... I did not get there in time."_

 _The girl blinked._

 _"What? But you had to... "_

 _"Well. We were too far and it took us too much time to get to the battlefield. "_

 _"So how..."_

 _"When we arrived... it was already over."_

 _Costia shook her head._

 _"That's not possible, Lexa. There was a whole war party in there and Clarke was alone. She had to... "_

 _"She defeated them all, Costia."_

 _..._

 _"N… No!"_

 _..._

 _"All by herself."_

 _..._

 _"No!"_

 _..._

 _"She defeated whole war party. Alone. "_

 _..._

 _"No. This is not… not possible!"_

 _..._

 _"She killed forty Azgeda warriors - Including Nia. Only four of them survived. "_

 _..._

 _"No."_

 _"Costia..."_

 _"This is fucking impossible!"_

 _"And yet Moro Mou... it is the truth."_

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _"Costia?"_

 _..._

 _"Costia, please say something?"_

 _..._

 _..._

 _"Shiiiiiiiiit."_

 _..._

 _..._

 _"I could not have said it better myself"_

 **xxxx**

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in…

She was ready.

She let out an arrow.

Breathe out.

The wooden bullet sped whistling through the trees.

The deer heard it, looked toward the sound and prepared to flee, but the arrow reached him before he broke into a run.

The rapid movement caused the arrow to strike the thigh of the animal. Terrified,the deer staggered, but pushed further forward. However, the wood protruding from its side slowed him deeply.

Without a second of hesitation, Lexa ran after the animal.

After all that tracking that she had to endure, she had no intention to let the deer run away and die somewhere in the bushes.

The area was not helping the bull even in the slightest.

Thinking that it is safe and searching for its favorite goodies - the deer wandered in the valley, from which was only one way out. The opposite end of the valley ended in a high steepness, which wounded deer could not climb.

The prey was trapped.

The Commander swiftly stretched her bow once again.

The second arrow hit the furry body and this time the animal fell.

The deer was still breathing yet. It tried to get up, fighting desperately for it's right to live, but death was coming fast.

Lexa, approaching the bull felt regret that something so beautiful had to meet its end.

A good hunter does not allow her prey to suffer, so a fast cut of Heda's dagger ended the animal's suffering.

Lexa bowed slightly to dead animal and apologized for the death that she had to give it.

Her heart was beating strongly so she took few deep breaths finally allowing herself to feel the fatigue of hard day.

Now she could relax.

Exhausted Lexa sat on the ground and allowed herself a brief respite.

 **xxxx**

 _It was the middle_ _of the night and the whole TONDC was covered in deep silence._

 _Lexa exited her quarters and walked toward the main building._

 _Her eyes slowly moved through the village, stopping every now and then at the burning fires or on the backs to her warriors standing guard at the palisade staring into the night._

 _She breathed deeply allowing a crisp air into her lungs. It helped her wake up after the light nap she took after her return. She walked in silence, lost in thought, counting every step to the hut where her wounded warrior was fighting for her life._

 _Fighting._

 _Always fighting._

 _Klark._

 _Her warrior who achieved the impossible and if she was honest with herself – it was not only because of her already legendary achievement one the field of battle..._

 _Impossible for a reason, that... all of a sudden... this warrior has somehow… firmly established her own place in Heda's mind… and heart. And if she was really, really, reallyyyyy honest with herself… this war_ _ri_ _or was going to stay in those two places for a long, long time._

 _..._

 _What was even more strange was that – Lexa didn't mind it at all._

 _..._

 _Klark._

 _How in the world this girl bec_ _o_ _me so close to her?_

 _Who was she? How did she do it? When…?_

…

 _How she became a true friend._

 _The friend, who was now fighting for her life._

 _..._

 _She shook her head trying to get rid of those gloomy thoughts._

 _The b_ _right moon peeked from behind the clouds and began to shine flowing whole village in a gentle glow. Nothing disturbed the peace beside few bats chasing insects for they nightly meal._

 _..._

 _Pensive Heda tightly gripped the hilt of her sword hidden safely strapped to the side. Slowly she moved h_ _er_ _finger on the straps around the handle. She couldn't stop thinking about the events of the last twenty or so hours._

 _For some unknown reason, she felt even something in the form of… shame._

 _Strange…_

 _She couldn't understand why she was feeling this way._

 _Her mind went further by imagining what would happened it if was her who landed in the situation similar to C_ _lar_ _ke's._

 _Would she_ _have_ _survived? Would she die? And if her destiny was to die in such way, would she accept it the same dignity as Klark or even Moro?_

 _Yes?_

 _No?_

 _Maybe?_

 _She sighed impatiently, knowing that similar digressions are the result of her tired mind._

 _She exhaled softly, remembering the main principle that Anya taught her while she was her Second._

 _"Every man is the architect of his own destiny, Lex_ _a_ _" - her mentor told her. "Live from day to day. Do what you think is right, and always be sure of your decisions - regardless of what they will bring in the future. "_

 _She stopped in front of the door, then reached out and pushed_ _it open_ _lightly stepping inside._

 _The healer watching over the unconscious girl looked up at the sound of a door opening and then stood respectfully._

 _"Heda" – he greeted her quietly._

 _She nodded._

 _"I th_ _ought_ _I told you to take a few hours of rest, right?" - she asked._

 _Nyko grimaced, knowing that he had been caught._

 _"I'm not tired, Heda."_

 _She raised her eyebrows in doubt._

 _"Klark need you at full strength, rather than falling on your face" - she said calmly._

 _He bent his head accepting reprimand._

 _"Where's Ahor and Diana?" - she implored. "it was their job to take the night shift for both you and Costia."_

 _Nyko scratched his beard uncertainly._

 _"I sent them both to the forest to find the The Draught Flowers…. As many as the could...and as you know Heda, they bloom only at night. They'll be back before dawn."_

 _When she nodded, he continued._

 _"The moon is now bright enough that it will help them in their search."_

 _He took the soft cloth from the small table beside_ _the_ _bed and wet it in the bowl full of fresh water. Then he be_ _nt_ _over a little and put it on the wounded girl_ _'_ _s forehead._

 _"I think that Clarke will not wake up until tomorrow. Then she will have to drink a brew from Draught Flowers to help her deal with pain… and let me tell you… she will be in lots of pain."_

 _He sighed and then looked up at her._

 _"I sen_ _t_ _Costia back to her roo_ _m_ _to get some rest an hour ago. She'll be back in the morning."_

 _Lexa shook her head and walked over near the bed._

 _"you need to rest too. Go." – she ordered quietly._

 _He winced when the innate obedience to follow orders fought inside of him with his duties of a healer._

 _"Heda, someone has to stay with her to..."_

 _"I'll stay with her" - she said. "You, go."_

 _For a second she saw in his eyes a flash of disbelief mixed with curiosity, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He bowed slightly with a gesture of respect and then briskly walked out of the hut leaving Heda and his patient alone._

 _Lexa closed her eyes._

 _..._

 _Breathe in._

 _Breathe out._

 _Breathe in._

 _Breathe out._

 _Breathe in._

 _Breathe out._

 _..._

 _The Commander looked on her warrior._

 _Now, when she was alone with her she somehow felt… by gods that was strange… she started to feel uncomfortable._

 _She scoffed thinking she must be losing her mind._

 _Lexa approached_ _the_ _unconscious girl and she bent over her watching carefully for signs of distress._

 _She clearly saw how_ _the_ _girl_ _'s_ _eyes moved restlessly under her closed eyelids._

 _Automatically Lexa extended her hand and delicately took Clarke's hand._

 _Her lips parted and from between them escaped pained single word._

 _"Klark."_

 _At the same exact moment, when her fingers touched the other girls hand – warrior suddenly jerked and firmly grasped Heda's fingers. She squeezed them strongly causing Lexa to exhale loudly while dealing with unexpected pain._

 _Surprised Heda bit her lip but didn't even try to snatch her hand back._

 _"Sorry, Heda… I'm sorry..." – a pained whisper escaped unconscious lips. "I failed you, Heda... I failed you, Lexa… I FAILED YOU LESKA..." – the girl painfully whispered fighting with fever._

 _After_ _a_ _few seconds just as abruptly as it had happened – Clarke released her commanders hand and lay limply back on the furs._

 _Shocked Heda took a half step back but after quick recovery she sat on the bed beside unconscious warrior rubbing her aching hand._

 _"Why…" - she asked herself softly. "By the gods… why? How…? Why she said it again? L-E-S-K-A?! How... how can she know?!"_

 _The thought in her were jumbled and she could almost feel nauseous._

 _..._

 _Calm._

 _She need to remain calm._

 _She HAD to calm down!_

 _..._

 _Breathe in._

 _Breathe out._

 _Breathe in._

 _Breathe out._

 _Breathe in._

 _Breathe out._

 _..._

 _Clarke still lie_ _s_ _motionless on the bed. The grey wolf furs the she was covered in were in perfect contrast to her battered body._

 _Still rubbing her aching hand Lexa watched closely her warrior._

 _Rapid eye movements under Clarke's eyelids helped guess that she was still in the grip of feverish nightmares._

 _Once again she leaned over the girl and gently put her hand on her forehead._

 _..._

 _Cool skin of her palm come in contact with the hot one._

 _..._

 _After a brief moment the grimace of pain disappeared from Clarke's face and eye movements become much slower._

 _Lexa gently stroked the cheek and reached into the bowl and pulled the wet cloth. With it she slowly began to wipe_ _the_ _sweaty face of her warrior._

 _"Fight!" - she whispered softly. "You need to fight, Klark."_

 _Lexa closed her eyes for a moment and then returned to the interrupted work._

" _Beja, Klark… You need to return to us… You need…"_

 _Her throat clenched._

"… _to return to… me."_

…

 _Breathe in._

 _Breathe out._

 _Breathe in._

 _Breathe out._

…

 _There was a long night ahead of both of them._

 **xxxxx**

Lexa immediately started to skin her prey.

First of all she took out luckily undamaged arrows. Then, expertly using her knife, she took off the creatures beautiful skin, cut out the antlers, and finally took the quartering and sharing portions of meat. After finishing the job she put her knife on the grass.

The quiet rustle of leaves alarmed her so she turned slowly in the direction where the sound came from.

She smiled slightly noticing that she was not longer alone in a clearing.

A dozen feet away from her, a young fox was sitting in the grass and watching her carefully.

She cut of a piece of her kill and threw it to the animal, which it quickly snatched and run away back into the forest.

"Well..." – Lexa snickered after animal. "Be careful of Pauna little one. We are near her hunting grounds."

She remembered clearly Gustus's stories about the hunters who chose to hunt in this area and never returned. The parties who went after them could only find few pieces of them here and there because Pauna's were usually quite fond of not wasting any food.

She straightened up and looked at the sky to the west which gradually became more and more colorful. It clearly meant that the day was slowly ending.

"It's time to come back" - she muttered to herself.

She reached for the backpack that was lying beside her on the ground and took out a coil of rope. She put it down for a moment to the side and then methodically and carefully began to pack the cut meat into her bag – with each piece wrapped tightly with the leaves from Oma Plant – which helped greatly to conserve the freshness of meat.

When she filled the backpack to its capacity, she tied it up and set aside.

She winced slightly, knowing that the weight of it is going to be quite serious, but she also knew that she could handle it without much trouble.

She swept her gaze to the rest of her prey.

There was still lot of meat on the deer, so it would be horrible waste of a good kill to leave it all to scavengers.

She decided to secure it for enough time to get back to TonDC and send someone after it later.

Lexa picked up the skin taken from the animal and re-wrapped the carcass with it once again. She secured it in place with several thin ropes creating something in the shape of a large - dripping with blood – bundle and then she looked carefully around.

Her face lit up when she saw what she wanted.

She stood up and began to collect single herbs topped with white small fruits. When she got enough of them, she returned back and methodically began to crush the fruits in her hands stirring the pulp with the rest of stems and leaves. After few minutes what she got in her hands was something in the shape of green-brown pulp that smelled... well... you could say… not-bloody-nicely.

Suppressing itching in her nose, Lexa slowly formed self made paste and distributed it in several places on her wrapped in leather prey. When she was finished she wiped her hands on the grass getting rid of the remnants. This provisional paste made from Coleus Canina should deter predators from her prey long enough until she could send someone to retrieve it.

Now Heda had to do one more thing so she reached for the rope and tighten the small stone to the one end of it.

She looked up at the large oak tower over her and with a quick and precise movement she threw stone in the direction of one of the thick branches. The makeshift anchor flew smoothly over it and fell to the ground on the other side.

Lexa muttered happily, freed the stone and quickly tied the rope around the deer's hooves. She stepped back a few paces and gripped the other end of the rope in her hands.

She braced her feet firmly on the ground and with a grunt she pulled on the rope lifting hunted animal up - toward the treetops.

Less than a minute later the dead deer hung high in the air, at a safe distance from ground predators and with a quick efficient move Lexa tied the rope to the tree nearby. After the work was done she dusted off her hands and straightened up.

She moved her arms slowly stretching sore muscles and after a moment reached for the backpack and quickly threw it over her shoulders.

With last quick glance she scrutinized her secured hunt, picked up her bow with deer antlers and started walking back to TonDC.

 **xxxx**

 _"What is your name?" - She asked the wounded Azgeda warrior._

 _He smiled in pain._

 _"Moro"._

 _Her eyebrows lifted intrigued._

 _"I've heard of you."_

 _"I bet..."_

 _He tried to laugh, but all that g_ _o_ _t out of him was a painful grunt._

 _"So this is how it ends for you?"_

 _"Yes..." - he nodded. "I've lived long enough... I think it's enough. Don't… you think, Heda?"_

 _She stayed quiet. There was no words for her to say anyway to it._

 _After the moment he broke the silence once more. His voice was weaker, his breath shallow - it was a clear sign of upcoming end._

 _"Can I... ask you... for something... Heda?"_

 _She nodded listening._

 _"Could you... say something to... the blonde… warrior?"_

 _"What do you want me to say?"_

 _"Could you... could you tell her... THANK YOU?"_

 _Her eyebrow rose slightly._

 _"Thank her for what?"_

 _He smiled._

 _"For giving me something... I was... seeking... my whole life. For giving me… the honor of Warri... Warriors Death... "_

 _Her eyes shone as she placed her hand on his bloodied ones._

 _"If she survives - I'll tell her" - she promised him. "And if she dies..."_

 _He chuckled lightly._

 _"... Then I'll tell her myself in the underworld."_

 _The blood flew..._

 _The life stopped..._

 _The Commander bowed her head in simple farewell to the fallen._

 _And quiet wind blew between the trees carryiing away quiet and sincere._

 _"Yu gonplei ste odon."_

 **xxxx**

Returning to TonDC took far less time than the actual hunting trip. When she no longer had to follow animal tracks she took the simplest route back. Luckily she also met a small group of hunters along the way – so she pointed them to the direction where she hung the rest of the prey.

When she got to the village, she left the meat near one of the fires and went to her quarters. After a long day in the woods she longed for a shower and soon ice-cold water worked wonders to her tired body allowing her to feel almost like a newborn.

She dressed in clean clothes, clipped the sash denoting her status as Heda and re-clipped sword and dagger to her waist.

When she left the house two shadows of her personal guards – moved silently behind her.

She smirked lightly she caught their sour expressions.

Goro and Diana were among her most trusted people, and sometimes it was hard for them to come to terms with the idea that Lexa does not…. (how to put it gently)… want to remain under their protection for twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. Even with their continued efforts to change that situation.

Yes, she was aware of the rules and she usually stuck to them… and if the protocol required for Heda to be under constant protection – then she was forced to accept it.

In public at least.

But even Heda sometimes needed a room to simply breathe without other people looming just few paces from her.

Yeah, even Heda, but… especially Lexa.

Therefore - although they were not happy about it - her personal guards sometimes had to… well… compromise in the manner of her personal security.

...

Compromise or simply listen to her orders to leave her the hell alone for a while.

Tomato – Tomahto.

She was The Commander… they had no other choice but to listen.

And one of those "compromises" was her occasional lone hunting trip… sooo with her well hidden amusement Lexa watched them poorly conceal their dissatisfaction.

Her legs automatically directed her to the largest hut in the village. When she opened the door of her guards automatically took place on both sides of the entrance.

When she was inside, Lexa's eyes went immediately in the direction of the bed with unconscious Clarke. She gave the warrior's quick once over and then her eyes stopped on someone else sitting beside the girls bed

The person stood up and bowed her head in respectful greeting.

Their eyes met.

"Heda" – The Elder Healer greeted The Commander.

Heda smiled sadly.

"Hello Abby"

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _To be continued…_

 _ **UP NEXT:**_

 _Lexa talks with her future Mother-In-Law... Ummm... I mean... There will be a conversation between Heda and The Elder Healer ;)_

 _We will get another quick glimpse to the past with Abby, Clarke, Lisa Reyes and a little cuitie named after a bird ;)_

 _Aaaand... sh*t is going to... ummm... hit the fan._

 _Or not... ;)_


End file.
